Fated to Save
by ComicNerdForLife
Summary: Going to the past on a mission to save everyone? Easy. Going to the past to do said mission and bumping into younger versions of your parents who don't know who you are? Not so much. Follow along as the children of The Seven go into the past to help their family save the world. Hilarity, Awkwardness, and Heartfelt Family moments ensue. (Book One of Three)
1. What The Hell Is Going On?

**Welcome to the rewritten first chapter of FTS! I hope you all enjoy it! I have already revised chapter two and will be rewriting the others as well! Hopefully this one flows at lot better than before!**

 **(Charlie POV)**

Charlie knew the moment that he woke up and heard an explosion outside his house that it was going to be a bad day. He just didn't know how bad it was going to be. If he had, he would never have gotten out of bed that morning.

Rolling out of bed, he rushed outside and grabbed one of the panicking centurions running around like headless chickens.

"What the hell is going on?" He 'calmly' asked.

"The giants broke through the wards, Sir! Praetor Zhang has ordered everyone to the front lines to fight while you and your cousins do the spell!" The centurion screamed back before running off to what Charlie assumed was the front lines.

Cursing under his breath, he ran back inside, screaming for his roommates to get up. Rushing to his closet to grab his go bag, he vaguely heard them stumbling out of bed just as another explosion went off, worryingly closer this time.

Meeting them in the hallway, Charlie yelled. "Grab your go bags and get dressed! The giants broke through the wards and will be hear soon! Emily's dad ordered everybody to the frontlines while we do the spell! Meet me outside!"

He saw that they were wide awake now, scrambling back to their rooms to get their stuff, Zack tripping in his haste and nearly bringing Ethan down with him.

Leaving them to sort themselves out, Charlie turned back to the front door, feeling glad he had been too tired to change out of his clothes last night as he stuffed his sock covered feet into his worn sneakers.

He rushed outside and sprinted into the girl's house, sighing with relief when he saw them coming out of their rooms fully dressed with their packs on.

"What's going on?" Lily asked, getting down to business.

He quickly reiterated what he had told his roommates, the girls swearing in unison when Charlie finished, pushing him out the door to see for themselves.

Charlie turned and saw Ethan and Zack running out of their shared house, coming to a halt in front of them as the girls stared in horror at the battle raging.

"Do we have everything we need, Charlie?" Silena asked, forcing herself to be calm.

He nodded grimly as he began ushering them off to the war room. "Yes, but we need to go now or we won't get the chance too."

A third explosion went off, far closer than the two previous ones. Charlie gritted his teeth as he tried to block out the sounds of the fight raging on behind them. It went against every instinct he had to walk away, but he and his cousins had a far more important mission to do.

The door to the war room opened and Will stuck his head out, spotting the group quickly and waved them over.

Diving into the room, Charlie noted that along with Will, Hazel and Calypso were there. Zack rushed to his father at the same time Emily and Lily lunged for theirs.

Will glanced at the three left and said "The other parents wanted to be here too, but they were needed on the battlefield. They said to tell you they loved you and to stay safe over there."

Charlie, Silena and Ethan nodded in understanding, leaving the parent/child duos to their goodbyes while the three of them prepped for the spell.

Charlie fought back a wave of emotion at his parent's message, focusing instead on drawing the symbols on the ground needed for the spell with the other two.

Seeing step away from their children, he forced himself to step over and say "If we're doing this we need to do it now."

Nodding grimly, they pushed their kids in the direction of the other two before turning to face Charlie.

"Charlie, I hope you know we're all incredibly proud of you, especially your parents." Hazel said, laying a hand on his cheek.

Charlie swallowed hard, doing his best to keep a steady expression. He nodded, causing her to smile.

She dropped her hand and gained a stern look. "Now you protect those cousins of yours, especially Emily. She's the youngest and least experienced."

He set his shoulders back and gave a sharp nod. "Of course I will, I'll keep her safe."

She smiled wryly and nodded. "Of course."

Charlie turned to Will and Calypso. "That goes for the others as well."

Shaking their heads on amusement, Calypso dryly stated. "We know, the six of you have been protecting each since birth."

Smirking faintly, he nodded and walked to the others, taking his place in the circle they had formed

Grasping Emily and Silena's hands, I nudged Emily. "Start the spell, kiddo."

He got a rude look for the nickname as she did as he asked. "I Emily Marie Zhang; Daughter of Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque call upon the Horai, the goddesses of time to grant us passage into the past."

Zack went next. "I Zachary di Angelo Solace; Son of Nico di Angelo and Will Solace call upon the Horai, the goddesses of time to grant us passage into the past."

Lily flashed a nervous grin as she went. "I Lillian Esperanza Valdez; Daughter of Leo Valdez and Calypso call upon the Horai, the goddesses of time to grant us passage into the past."

Ethan rolled his shoulders back. "I Ethan Julian Ramirez-Arellano; Son of Reyna Ramirez-Arellano and Grandson of Bellona call upon the Horai, the goddesses of time to grant us passage into the past.

Silena squeezed Charlie's hand as she spoke "I Silena Amber Grace; Daughter of Jason Grace and Piper McLean call upon the Horai, the goddesses of time to grant us passage into the past.

Charlie took a deep breath, gave a silent prayer that this would work and spoke. "I Charles Lucas Jackson; Son of Perceus Jackson and Annabeth Chase call upon the Horai, the goddesses of time to grant us passage into the past."

A moment passed before wind came out of nowhere, rushing around us at top speed. Things fell over, objects crashed into the wall causing Lily and Emily to flinch. An abrupt light in the middle of their circle appeared and began expanding outward, moving slowly to cover the six of them.

Just before it covered Charlie completely, he suddenly heard his father's voice shouting over the noise.

"You all can do it Charlie! I believe in you! Don't let your fear control you!" Percy Jackson screamed.

Charlie inhaled and yelled. "Dad!" as the light engulfed him completely, hiding the lone tear streaking across his cheek.

He thought about what he and his cousins had to do. Go back in time and help their parents on their quest to defeat Gaea and somehow fix Tartarus from whatever the hell Gaea did to it and do it all without their parents finding out.

They were so dead.

 **Hope you guys liked it! I was looking back over my work the other day and realized these first few chapters weren't exactly the best I could do. Thusly I went back and rewrote it! Enjoy!**


	2. A Wonderful Start to a Quest

**This is the revised chapter! Hope this one's better to read!**

 **(Charlie POV)**

Getting pulled into the past didn't hurt like everybody thought it would, it was the landing that sucked.

Tumbling head over heels across the ground, Charlie felt his left shoulder scream in protest as he roughly landed on it and came to a slow stop. Lifting his head warily, he looked around and saw his cousins in similar positions.

Zack and Emily had ended up slamming into each other and were now completely entangled in each other's limbs. Silena was upside down with her left wrist bent in a way that was in no way healthy. Lily was sprawled on her back, eagle spread and blinking up at the sky in confusion, probably wondering why she was on the ground.

Ethan, the ninja that he was, was the only one who had landed on his feet and was up, looking around while the rest of them sorted themselves out.

Groaning in pain as he got up, Charlie called out to him "Sense anything?"

He shook his head "Nothing, which is weird."

Frowning in confusion, Charlie looked around and was surprised by what he saw.

Trees, huge trees all around them with a small little river a few feet away from where they landed. Taking another look around them, his heart dropped as he realized where they were, Camp Half-Blood, more specifically the woods surrounding camp.

Apparently Silena recognized it since she asked."Oh my gods, is this camp?"

The others hearing this, quickly straightened themselves out to look around, mimicking Charlie's longing expression as they realized that yes this was most definitely camp.

"What do we do? We can't exactly just walk into camp and say "Yeah we're from the future and that we're some of the campers' kids." We would get locked up for being crazy!" Lily said, looking slightly panicked.

Charlie ran his hands through his hair as he thought. "No, we can't but we can sneak around to the camps entrance and cut up our clothes and bags to make it look like we're just regular demigods stumbling into camp."

Ethan raised a skeptical eyebrow "And what happens when they ask who our godly parents are? I highly doubt six gods are going to accept us when we claim to be their kids."

Charlie hadn't thought of that yet. How would they explain who their godly parents are?

Charlie himself looked like the perfect mix of an Athena child and Poseidon child with his tan skin and green eyes matched with his blonde hair and the shape of his face. Everyone always said he was the perfect mix of his parents, both in appearance and in personality.

He had his mother's smarts and strategic prowess along with his father's sarcastic outlook and powers. However along with that he also had his father's fatal flaw, unwavering loyalty. His mother always said if anything would kill him; it would because he was protecting his friends and family. She always said it with a fond smile though and would follow up by saying it was one of the best things about his dad and that she was so happy Charlie got it from him.

Thinking of his mom once again brought tears to his eyes, if they failed in their mission everyone they loved would die, however if they told their parents in this time who they are, they might not be born. This meant they would have to avoid their parents while still helping on their quest. Oh Boy.

Mentally shaking his head to rid it of the bad thoughts, Charlie said "We'll figure it out when we get there; right now I want get out of here in case we missed a monster or something."

Once his cousins agreed, they began to start the longish trek to Thalia's pine tree. Charlie noticed Silena holding her wrist and grimacing, prompting him to ask "Is it broken Lena?"

"No, just sprained." She said with a wince.

Charlie turned to Zack and raised his voice a little "Hey, Z, grab some ambrosia for Lena, please."

Nodding his head, he began rummaging through his bag for it. Confident he would find it, Charlie turned back to Silena and gestured for her wrist. Once she gave it to him, he noticed that, just like she said, it was sprained not broken. However if she had landed on it any harder it surely would have broken.

As he told her that she was lucky it wasn't broken (as it was a bad looking mix of blue and purple), he wrapped her wrist while Zack gave her the ambrosia. Watching the discomfort fade from her features, Charlie gestured for everybody to start walking again.

Fifteen minutes into their walk as everybody was quietly talking with each other, he heard a sudden growl to their right. Stopping in his tracks, Charlie whistled for everybody to stop. They stopped and listened closer and heard the growling that had stopped him.

Moving in to a circle back to back with another, the six of them tried to figure out which way it was coming from when they heard three more growls joining the first one, swearing under their breathes, Silena, Ethan, Lily and he pulled the younger two into the middle of their semi circle as the four monsters making the growling noise stepped into the light.

'Hellhounds, why was it always hellhounds?' Charlie thought as he reached into his pocket and pulled out Riptide and uncapped it. Charlie was suddenly glad his father had given it to him for the quest.

Seeing in his peripherals the others pulling out their weapons as well, he lunged for his hellhound, trying to take it by surprise.

Charlie had to admit the hellhound was a little smart when it dodged his attack by a mile, leaping to the side and immediately going for him while he resituated himself. Charlie however was also smart so when the hellish doggy lunged at him, he quickly sidestepped and snapped Riptide into a wide arc, catching the creature on the side of its flank.

The hellhound growled menacingly at him and once again leapt for him, before it got very far however an arrow came for his left and hit its side. Using the distraction he quickly stepped forward and decapitated it.

Not bothering to watch it disintegrate into dust, Charlie turned back to his cousins, all of them looking fine, and did a quick head count.

Silena was cleaning off her twin daggers with her well loved cleaning rag, Ethan was putting his sword back on to his necklace in pendant form, Lily already having put her dagger back in its sheathe was talking to Zack who was pouting, no doubt about not getting to fight.

Watching Emily put her bow back into its ring form; Charlie crossed his arms and gave her a look.

Noticing his look, she gave him one of her own and stubbornly said "I wanted to help."

Unwilling to rehash the same argument the two of them had a thousand times before; he walked over to her and ruffled her hair.

"You're lucky that you're cute, munchkin, otherwise bad things would be happening right now." Charlie said, mockingly serious.

Grumbling, she ducked out from under his hand and said "Uh huh, sure they would."

Smiling at the response he turned to the others and said "Now that that's over with, let's get a move on shall we?"

Everyone snickered at them and once again began to move.

However they didn't get very far as they heard an amused voice call out to them. "Stop right where you are and put your hands on your head."

Freezing, they did as the voice said. Charlie panicked internally, trying to figure out where the distinctively female voice came from. She was good, he'd give her that, none of them sensed her or the friends he assumed she had.

"Blonde boy, step to your left." She called out Charlie, the only blonde male in the group.

He felt his cousins tense around him and Ethan firmly say "He's not going anywhere."

A second later an arrow flew by his head and sank into a tree behind him.

"Step to your left Blondie!" She yelled and Charlie immediately did as she said, not wanting his cousins to get hurt.

The more she talked though, the more he recognized the voice, even more so when she called him Blondie. As Charlie combed through his memories for which person it belonged to, she yelled down at them again

"Alright, the one called Lena step to your right." She ordered.

He stiffened more and wondered how long they had been watching them for as Silena did as she was told, making eye contact with him and mouthing 'Do you recognize her voice?'.

Nodding his head slightly, he mouthed back 'You do too?'

She gave him a small nod. Now he was stumped, who did the both of them know that used a bow and arrows, hung around in the woods of camp, and called him Blondie?

The answer hit him suddenly like a lightning bolt. Thalia Grace, it had to be her, now that he figured it out he almost slapped himself with how stupid he had been to not recognize his own godmother.

Looking back at Silena, who was staring at him expectantly, Charlie mouthed 'Auntie Thalia.'

Immediately he saw her go through the same emotions he had went through when he realized it. Now how were they going to get out of this situation without spilling their secret?

Clearing his throat, he said "What do you want?"

She was silent for a few moments before replying. "I want to know what that light was and why you six tumbled out of it."

Licking his lips, Charlie opened his mouth to speak but before he could, she continued "I also want to know what you meant by you guys being from the future."

Horrified, Charlie stayed there gaping like a fish, mind going a mile a minute trying to figure out how he would explain this to his future godmother in a plausible way.

Before he could though, Lily piped up "We'll tell only if you put down your weapons and come out, all of you."

Charlie both mentally thanked the gods that Lily was ballsy enough to say that and depressed that she did say that as that just might get them shot.

Thankfully the huntress was feeling either merciful or curious, because she agreed and ordered the rest of the huntress to stand down. Coming out of the woods to their right, he wasn't surprised to see she looked exactly the same as she did in the future. Charlie had asked his mom once when he was six why Thalia never seemed to age and she had told him it was because Thalia had taken an oath when she became an Hunter of Artemis and with that oath came immortality.

As she stood directly in front of them he saw a curious yet distrustful look on her face and hoped she believed whatever came out of Lily's mouth.

The rest of the hunters looked straight at the two of them as Thalia asked "Where's my explanation?"

Smirking, Lily said "I said I'd explain when ALL of you came out. I know there are more of you in those woods."

Thalia scowled and asked. "And how do you know that?"

"Because you came out of the woods from our right and the arrow one of your people shot at my cousin came from our left. There is no way you moved that fast without us hearing you, now that we knew you were there." said Lily, a touch smugly.

Charlie had to give it to her though, it was good reasoning. He only knew there were more people because he always assumed no one went anywhere without backup. Apparently Thalia agreed, because she scowled more and gestured for her hunters to appear out of the woods.

Immediately twenty to thirty girls of all ages came out of the woodwork. Shifting his stance, he vaguely wondered if they would be able to fight their way out. Going over the odds however and seeing the looks he was getting made him settle down and pay attention to Lily and Thalia, hoping they wouldn't get shot at.

Lily smiled disarmingly and said "Thanks, now what was your question?"

Resisting the urge to groan in frustration, Charlie looked at the rest of his cousins, all of whom were staring at Lily in disbelief along with Thalia.

Shaking her head, Thalia said "Explain what you meant by you being from the future, now."

Looking at Lily, he could tell she was thinking hard about what say, Hell _he_ was wondering what the best option was. Thinking it over though, telling her the truth couldn't hurt, on one hand she could deem them crazy and give them to Chiron (the centaur that ran Cap Half-Blood) or she would believe them and help them on their quest.

Speaking up, he said "Lily, go ahead and tell her the truth."

"Shut it, boy!" A voice from the trees yelled.

Ignoring the hunter growling at him to be quiet, Charlie continued "All of it, Lily, go ahead."

Looking at him, she nodded and took a deep breath and began telling their story "We're from the future, specifically we're from the future where during this war we're in right now, Gaia caused major damage to Tartarus resulting in monsters never dying and Giants and Titans coming out of the woodwork to destroy the world."

Taking another breath before anyone could stop her, she continued "Our parents sent us back to stop that from happening and to stop so many of the casualties that go along with this war."

Silence and quiet disbelief, that's all Charlie heard after Lily stopped talking, until Silena spoke up "It's all true, I promise, Aunt Thalia."

Thalia's head snapped around to look at Silena "Aunt Thalia, you just called me Aunt Thalia. Explain, now."

Nodding, Silena said "My father is Jason Grace, your younger brother."

"That's not possible, there is no way you could be his daughter, you're like thirteen!" Thalia said franticly. "You don't even look like him! In fact you look like Pip-"Her eyes widened and she cut herself off.

"You were going to say I look like Piper McLean right?" Silena said dryly.

Thalia nodded and Silena smiled sweetly as she said. "I would hope so since she's my mother and all. Also I'm fourteen."

Shakily, Thalia stepped closer to Silena and stared at her, Silena looking back calmly, and whispered "You have his eyes."

Silena smiled as she replied back. "Technically, you had them first."

Laughing in surprise, Thalia nodded as she stepped back and finally looking at the rest of them "Any more nieces or nephews I need to know about?"

She said it jokingly but Charlie and the rest of his cousins raised their hands.

Seeing her shocked face Ethan quickly explained "We're not biologically your nieces or nephews but we've been calling you Aunt Thalia since we could speak."

Nodding in understanding, she took a deep breath and released it.

"So who are the rest of your guys' parents?" She asked, and after seeing them exchange looks, continued "I promise I won't tell and neither will my hunters."

Ethan spoke up first. "I don't know who my biological parents are, but my adoptive moms name is Reyna and I'm thirteen."

Nodding at him, she then turned to Zack with an expectant look. Catching the look, he quickly said "I'm also thirteen and my parents are Nico di Angelo and Will Solace."

Seeing the surprised look, he shrugged and asked "What did you expect?"

She quickly shot back with, "Anything but that."

Turning away from Zack, (lest she get sucked in to knowing something she might not want to know) she pointing at Lily and gestured for her to go.

"My parents are Leo Valdez and Calypso and I'm thirteen." Lily said, grinning mischievously.

Charlie heard Thalia mutter "I knew Leo had to be her dad but who the hell is Calypso?" to herself.

Preemptively stopping Lily from answering her, Emily stepped up next. "My parents are Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque, I'm twelve." Seeing Thalia's confusion at the names she added, "You'll meet them later."

Nodding, she finally turned to Charlie with an expectant look on her face "Go Blondie,"

Sighing, he said "My name is Charlie and my parents are Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase and I'm fourteen." Expecting the shocked look, Charlie said "Yes I am telling the truth."

He saw her look at him closer and say "I don't know how I didn't see it before; you're like the perfect mix of Barnacle Breath and Annie."

Laughing at the nicknames for his parents, he said "Yeah I get that a lot."

Smirking suddenly, she said "Come on kiddos, Aunt Thalia is going to take you to camp to meet your teenage parents."

Gleefully she turned and told her hunters to start going to camp while the six of them exchanged reluctant looks before following along.

He had a bad feeling about this.


	3. We Explain To A Centaur Why We're Here

**(Charlie POV)**

Walking into camp was like walking into your own house after a long day. Comforting and bringing a sense of peace of mind to you. Knowing his cousins felt the same way as him; Charlie turned and gave them a bright smile, identical ones already on their faces.

"Alright let's go to Chiron and tell him about you guys and what you're doing here." Aunt Thalia said, taking charge. Nodding their heads, they began walking down the hill they were on next to Thalia's pine tree.

They didn't get very far from the end of the hill before a voice called out "Hey Thalia, who are these guys?"

Turning towards who spoke, Charlie's heart leapt to his throat as he realized it was his mother, the younger version anyway. Turning to look at Thalia, Charlie hoped she said what he told her to say when anybody asked about the six of them. As much as he loved his Aunt, she had a bad habit of ignoring what people told her to do if she thought what she wanted to say was better.

Grinning at Annabeth, Thalia said "Found some fresh meat for you guys on the way over here. What do ya think?" She gestured at the six of us.

Moving slightly so that she could look at all of them, they stood at attention. Feeling his mom stare at them and mentally weigh their physique, Charlie shifted uncomfortably under it, not used to his mom looking at him and not realizing who he was.

Thalia, noticing how uncomfortable they were, spoke up "Well I'm going take them to Chiron so if you want to meet me at the pavilion Annabeth, we can catch up." She offered up to Annabeth.

Nodding, Annabeth said "Alright, ten minutes, if you're not there I'll come find you. Chiron's at the Big House by the way." Giving one more glance at them, she turned and started walking to the pavilion.

Letting out the breath he had been holding, Charlie turned to the others.

"That was weird." Lily said with a slightly hurt look on her face.

Putting a hand on her shoulder, Silena said "Yeah it was, I didn't think it would hurt so much, them not knowing who we are. How are you doing Charlie?"

"I don't know, right now though I don't have the time to sort it out, we need to go to Chiron and explain who we are and why we're here." He said, forcing any emotions he felt towards what just happened with his mom into a box to sort out later.

Giving me a look that said they would be talking about it later, she said "All right then let's go."

Solemnly they began to walk to the Big House where Chiron was according to Annabeth and lo and behold there he was, playing poker on the porch with a couple campers.

Stepping on to the porch with Charlie and his cousins trailing behind her, Thalia impatiently said "Chiron we need talk, now."

Looking at us curiously he asked "I assume it has something to do with the unfamiliar faces standing behind you?"

Nodding her head, she said "This is one of those conversations we need to have inside that NO ONE can overhear."

Face turning serious, Chiron stood from his wheelchair; his body from his waist down emerging as a horse's lower half before saying "Then come inside, young heroes, and explain your story."

 _OoOoOoOo_

Watching Chiron's face go through a series of emotion while Ethan explained who they were and why they were here, Charlie could tell he needed only one little push to believe all of it.

Standing from his leaned back position against the wall, Charlie said "You don't believe us yet but you will after this."

Looking at a glass of water that was on his desk, Charlie moved his hand upwards, the water in the glass following his hands moment. Beginning to play with the water, he started creating shapes with it, seeing in my peripherals Lily light her finger tips on fire and start writing in the air random numbers and letters.

Seeing Chiron's shocked face as the two of them played with their elements, Charlie put the water back in the glass and gestured at Lily to snuff out the flames on her fingers.

Turning back to the centaur in the room, Charlie asked in an amused tone. "Believe us now?"

Snapping out of his shock, he said "Yes I think I do."

Crossing his arms, he asked "You are all from the future? And you're all the children of the Seven you say?"

Nodding, Charlie said "Yes we are, except for Ethan and Zack whose parents are people who helped on the quest but weren't involved with the prophecy."

"Ethan's mother is a young woman named Reyna who is one of the Praetors at the Roman camp you say correct?"

They all nodded.

"And Zack is the child of Mr. di Angelo and Mr. Solace you say?" They all nodded once again.

Looking slightly surprised, he said "That is a combination I did not expect."

Zack grinned manically and cheerfully said "According to Uncle Percy, no did."

Chiron suddenly turned grim "Speaking of Mr. Jackson, you know where he is don't you? Will you tell me where he is?"

Exchanging looks with Ethan and Silena, Charlie said "Yes we know where he is but no we won't tell you where he is."

Looking slightly annoyed, he asked "And why not?"

"Because if I do you'll gather people for a 'rescue' mission and screw with history. What my dad is going through right now NEEDS to happen otherwise specific events won't happen and we'll ALL be screwed." Charlie answered firmly

Sighing in defeat he nodded and said "Alright one more question, what he's going through right now, will he be hurt?"

Shaking his head, Charlie said "He gets a little beat as he always does on any quest he goes on but nothing serious."

He gave a relieved sigh and said "Good, then let's get you all sorted out. Which cabins would you all like to stay in?"

Charlie immediately said "Silena in Aphrodite cabin, Ethan in the Ares cabin along with Emily, Lily in Hephaestus, Zack in the Apollo cabin, and I'll go to the Athena cabin."

Nodding he said "I will tell everyone during lunch. Now I believe you should all go settle in your new cabins while I talk with your Aunt."

Murmuring in agreement, they all began to file out of the room.

 _OoOoOoOo_

Standing in front of the Big House, Silena said "We should all meet at Zeus's Fist in twenty minutes to start making a game plan, until then though we stick to only telling people the bare minimum."

Nodding Ethan said "Right we all met on the road after monsters attacked our families and we've been together ever since, Thalia found us two days ago running in the woods away from monsters and took us here. We figured out that the gods were real from what are parents and what we got from each other and our godly parents claimed us on the road."

"Exactly and we also cannot tell our parents ANYTHING until they know us better and will be more inclined to believe it. Got it?"Charlie said, getting nods from the rest.

Letting out a breath, he continued "Alright then just like Lena said unpack, get settled and we'll all meet at Zeus's Fist in twenty minutes."

Agreeing, they all dispersed to go to their respective cabins.

Walking to the Athena cabin, Charlie was hit with a sense of nostalgia, remembering all times he walked this path with his parents to visit his aunts and uncles in the Athena cabin. Forcing back the rush of emotions he was feeling, Charlie stepped into the cabin and was immediately accosted by Malcolm, one of his uncles and his mom's second in command in charge of the cabin.

"Are you one of the new kids that came today?" he asked.

Charlie nodded and said "Cool I'm Malcolm and I'll show you to your bunk and give you the tour around camp."

I shook my head as we walked to the bunk that was going to be mine.

"Thanks for the offer but Thalia already gave us a quick tour after she took us to Chiron and my name is Charlie" He lied, not wanting to explain why I was really saying no.

Nodding his head, Malcolm said "Alright Charlie, then I guess if you have any questions you can ask me or Annabeth who you'll meet later, she's our cabin counselor."

Charlie nodded and continued to look around the cabin, noting that the cabin didn't really change a lot in the next seventeen years.

"Well I hate to cut and run but we have archery practice in five minutes, you're welcome to join us if you want but you don't have to if you don't want to since this is your first day and all." He said looking slightly uncomfortable.

Charlie nodded his head and said "I think I'm going to stay here and get settled some more before lunch." Subtly letting him know Charlie would be fine as he start to open up his bag to begin unpacking.

Nodding in agreement with a look of relief on his face, he said "Alright I'll see you at lunch then."

"See you then" Charlie said back and watched him and the rest of his mom's siblings walk out the door to the archery range. He mentally shook his head, in a weird head space from seeing and talking to all these people who should know who he was treat him like a perfect stranger.

Charlie honestly didn't know how his cousins and he were going to get through this, but he did know one thing.

It was going to be the hardest quest they would ever go on.


	4. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

**(Silena POV)**

Drew Tanaka was just as irritating in the past as she is in the future. She droned on and on about her clothes and about how to become a proper daughter of Aphrodite, she had to break somebody's heart.

Silena was ready to scream and commit murder when her perfectly timed mother stepped in and said "Drew that's enough, I know I told you that the Aphrodite cabin was going to change. That includes the breaking somebody's heart rule. Got it?" Looking at Tanaka with an icy expression on her face.

Scowling at her, Drew through clenched teeth, said "Got it."

Looking like she was sucking on a lemon the whole time. Laughing under her breath, Silena enjoyed the furious look she got in return from Drew.

Stomping her way out of the cabin, Silena heard her muttering curses under her toward Piper and her causing Silena to smile brightly and make mental note to grab Lily and Zack to plan a prank on her, after all there was nothing wrong with a little hazing between family members right?

Turning to her mother, Silena cheerfully said. "Thanks, I was about to have to hide her body if she kept talking, and that's definitely not how I wanted to start off my time at camp."

Laughing and smiling back at her, Piper said "Don't worry about it, she gets on everybody's nerves. I'm Piper, cabin tens counselor. What's your name?"

Forcing her smile a little as Silena remembered she didn't know who she was yet, said "Nice to meet you Piper, my names Silena Amber but you can call me Lena, everybody does." She used her middle name as a substitute for her last name.

She looked intrigued as she said "Huh, that was the previous cabins counselors' name. Silena Beauregard."

Freezing, Silena's mind raced as she mentally slapped herself for not remembering that she was named after her. Gods, how stupid could she be?

Clearing her throat, Silena said "Really? I didn't know that, do you know where she is?"

Silena hoped that her question would derail her mom from thinking about how suspicious it was to have her dead supposed sister's name.

Looking slightly crestfallen, she said "She died a few years ago before I came to camp. I actually only came to camp a few months ago myself along with Jason, a son Zeus and Leo, a son of Hephaestus and counselor of cabin nine."

Nodding her head, Silena asked "How did you become the cabin counselor if you've only been here a few months?"

Smiling, she said "Drew gave it to me since it was either that or defeat me in combat and since I had just gotten back from a harrowing quest she really didn't want to fight me."

Laughing in fake surprise but in very real approval, Silena said "I would've paid good money to see that! That would've been awesome!"

"It would've been, wouldn't it?" she asked rhetorically, smiling to herself.

Settling herself on her bunk, Silena asked "So what's this about a quest I hear? What happened there?"

Looking slightly unsure, she said "It's kind of a long story and you barely know me."

Smiling gently, Silena said "what better way is there to get to know someone than to hear they're story? Besides I don't have anywhere to be, do you?"

So Silena lied a little but the others would understand. It was her mom; they would do the same thing if they were in her position right? Right.

 _OoOoOoOo_

Five minutes late to her meeting with the others, Silena couldn't find it in herself to feel more than a little guilty seeing as how she had spent the last twenty minutes talking with my mother.

Hell, she had even introduced herself to her dad when he came over to talk to her mom.

This was a little weird seeing as how Silena had forced him to play dress up and have tea parties with her when she was little, and he barely knows her name right now.

It hurt to be completely honest, looking into her parents faces and not seeing the love and fondness she'd seen her entire life. Silena could only imagine what the younger two were going through, still being in that stage of childhood where your parents were the only ones you wanted to hold and hang out with.

Sighing at the depressing thoughts, Silena finally walked into the clearing where Zeus Fist was and was surprised when she only saw Emily, Ethan, and Charlie there.

Looking up as she stepped towards them, they waved her over and called out various greetings as Silena came to a stop right beside them.

"Where are Lily and Zack?" She asked thinking about how she should have been the last one here.

Charlie shrugged and said "I spotted Lily in the forge hanging out with her dad and Ethan said he saw Zack in the infirmary bugging Uncle Will."

Ethan nodded his head and confirmed it "He had that look in his eyes, that one he always gets before he annoys someone to the point of hitting him."

Sighing again, this time in defeat as she made a mental note that she was probably going to have to doctor my terror of a cousin when he came to the meeting.

"We should probably start the meeting and just fill them in when they get here shouldn't we?" Silena asked Charlie, an undertone of amusement in her voice.

"Probably." He agreed, giving her an equal look of amusement.

A sudden voice from their left had them turning to look at them.

"No need, I grabbed the terror before he could get punched by Clarisse who was in the infirmary for some reason," Lily said cheerfully dragging a pouting Zack by the arm over to them.

Ethan shook his head and said in a defeated tone "Why in the name of the gods would you want to annoy Clarisse?"

Zack shook his arm away from Lily's grip and said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I wasn't trying to annoy HER, I was trying to annoy my dad, she just happened to be in the room while I did it."

Staring at him in disbelief, Silena said "This is why the Ares cabin hates you, you know that right?"

With a maniacal grin on his face he said "What do I care? It's not like they'll ever catch me."

Falling backward into a shadow and popping back up behind Ethan, trying to and failing to scare him.

Zack only succeeded in getting Ethan to put him in a headlock with Ethan rhetorically asking. "You got into the chocolate didn't you, you Terror?"

Ethan kept him the headlock for the time being while Zack half heartedly tried to get out of it.

Charlie cleared his throat, giving the two boys a look that was half amused and half exasperated, asked "Now that everybody is actually here, can we get started please?"

He glared a little at Lily, Zack, and her; the three of them immediately putting on innocent looks that made it seem like butter wouldn't melt in their mouths, Zack still in his headlock, resulting in Charlie glaring harder at them for a few seconds before continuing.

"We need to start coming up with a plan and start compiling a list of who we should tell and when. As well as start figuring out how we're going to bully our way into this quest since we're not exactly part of the prophecy." Charlie said, pushing himself up to sit up on one of the smaller pieces of Zeus's fist.

Finally letting Zack up from his hold on him, Ethan spoke up "I think we should tell our parents in a few weeks after they get to know us a little better so that it's not so far out of left field that they'll out right dismiss us."

"I agree with Ethan, we definitely need to tell our parents otherwise I don't think we can really find another reason to be on this quest." Silena said, backing Ethan up.

Charlie nodded and turned to the other three, asking. "What do you guys think? Do you agree?"

They exchanged looks for a quick second before they all turned back to Charlie and nodded their heads.

Letting out a breath, Charlie said "Alright then with that settled, we need to figure out how and when we're going to tell them since it needs to be BEFORE Uncle Leo and the rest of cabin nine finishes the Argo ll."

"The week before maybe? That way they have time to digest the information and come to terms with before we get on boat for like two months." Emily said.

She looked slightly tired from the day they'd had despite the fact they'd woken up only six hours ago. Then again thinking of all the things that had gone in those six hours made Silena feel tired so she could only imagine how the baby of their group was feeling.

Charlie contemplated her suggestion for a second and nodded.

"Sounds like a good idea squirt, let's do it." He said, smiling when Emily gave him an outraged look for calling her squirt, the rest of them giggling at the exchange.

Hearing the horn go off for lunch time, they all looked at each other and nodded, supporting one another and gladly taking support as well.

It was time to face Camp Half- Blood as total strangers to their friends and family. This was going to suck.


	5. Making Plans and Scaring Our Relatives

**(Silena POV)**

Lunch was an interesting affair, Chiron announcing who they are and what cabins they belong to, everybody staring at them when they figured out the six of them knew each other and came to camp together.

Slightly uncomfortable with all of the staring, Silena glared at everyone she caught looking, startling people and making them turn away for her. Feeling cheered up by the fact that she could still terrify people with only her glare; Silena turned back toward her food and started eating.

Piper muffled her laughter and said "Wow I haven't seen a glare like that since someone mentioned how Percy might not come back around Annabeth. She glared at him so hard the dude had a nervous breakdown."

Snickering, Silena said "That sounds like her."

Piper looked slightly confused "How do you know that? I don't think you've met Annabeth yet."

Silena floundered for second before remembering that Charlie was in the Athena cabin "My friend Charlie, he's one of the demigods I came to camp with, he's in the Athena cabin and told me about her. According to him she sounds like a hard ass."

Thankful, Silena had come up with a plausible excuse for why she knew that about Annabeth, she listened to Piper say "She's actually not that bad, she's just…she's just heartbroken right now."

Nodding her head in understanding, Silena said "You guys are going to get him though right? From the Roman camp?"

Piper confirmed "Yup Jason, Annabeth, Leo, and I are going to pick him in three weeks from the Roman camp and start the quest to take down Gaia."

Noticing her slightly distressed expression at the mention of the quest, Silena sarcastically asked "What, are you not excited to go on a terrifying and dangerous quest with danger around every corner?"

Laughing in surprise, she said "No, no I'm not. I mean I'm okay with the reason for going on the quest and all, we're saving the world, but going on death defying adventures and fighting monsters and giants and primordial goddesses, it's all just a little too much to deal with sometimes when I think about what we're ACTUALLY going to do."

Silena winced in sympathy for her mother; she understood what she was talking about. The months leading up to their jump to the past, she was a wreck, thinking about all the trouble they could get into and all the problems they could potentially create.

Silena remembered she had caused herself to get sick worrying about it, but she also remembered something Charlie told her when he had found her curled up in a ball on her bed after being sick.

He had said 'Lena there is absolutely no point in worrying yourself sick over this, there is a reason it's not just one of us going to the past. All six of us are going so that we can keep each other in check and protect one another; we've been training for this for the last year so that we won't screw this up, just trust in that okay?'

Silena remember that the next day he had grabbed the rest of their cousins along with their parents and called a three hour meeting to outline the entire plan so that everyone was on the same page, and just like that her worry went away when she realized she trusted in her family and the plan that they made.

Coming back to reality, Silena realized that Piper was waiting for her response "I think that there is a reason that the prophecy said seven people are going instead of just three like normal quests. I think that reason is so that you have a bigger support system when facing all those things you mentioned. Things always seem scarier when you're facing them alone but when you have family standing right beside you, I think you can do anything."

Looking at her mom somewhat bashfully after her mini rant, Silena saw that she along with most of the Aphrodite kids at their end were staring at her in shock, with a little bit of pride in her mom's eyes.

Clearing her throat and feeling a little embarrassed, Silena finished the rest of his lunch and stood up, speed walking out of the pavilion.

Feeling a presence behind her, Silena looked back and saw Charlie walking behind her along with Lily. Slowing down my speed walking, she allowed them to catch up to her.

"So what's with the sudden exit? Someone say something you didn't like?" Charlie teased gently but Silena could see the protective look in his eyes. He was fully prepared to march right back into the pavilion and raise hell with the person who had made her walk out.

Smiling, Silena said "No I just embarrassed myself by ranting about the power of family and gave a friendship is magic speech."

Lily frowned "How is that embarrassing? Our parents and Charlie do it all the time."

Charlie gave her a look "I do not do it all the time!"

"What don't you do all the time?" Emily asked popping out of nowhere, Zack right beside her, scaring the hell out of the three of them.

"DON'T DO THAT" The three of them yelled, clutching their chests where their hearts were.

Lily hopped into Charlie's arms, forcing him to carry her bridal style lest he drop her. Ethan, who Silena noticed walking up to us started laughing at us for being startled by them, him being the only one in the whole family, parents included, to remain unpranked by them.

Not for any lack of trying on their part however, the two of them had been trying to get him for years, Ethan apparently had a sixth sense for when a prank was aimed at him though and always managed to dodge or dismantle the prank before it could hit him.

Back in reality, the two terrors simply laughed evilly and repeated Emily's question, this time in unison.

Shivering in revulsion at how creepy the two of them were together at times, Silena said "Charlie claims that he doesn't make inspirational speeches about the power of family all time."

Ethan and the terror twins stared at Charlie for a minute until he finally blew up.

"WHAT! I don't do it all the all time guys….right?" he trailed off a little as he looked at their expressions, dropping Lily to her feet.

Immediately Ethan and Zack shook their heads and said various denials. Emily however just said "Yeah you do, like ALL the time whenever you think there's even a remote chance someone needs one."

Charlie gave an impressive scowl and grumbled "Keep quiet midget, your opinion doesn't matter to me this time."

Emily glared and yelled "Quit calling me that Fish Boy!"

"Grow another foot and I'll stop calling you that shortstuff!" Charlie snipped back.

At this point the rest of them were cracking up as the two insulted each other, there was just something about seeing Emily, a five foot two twelve year old argue with her six foot older cousin about height issues, it was hilarious.

The two of them noticed them laughing their asses off and exchanged glances, apparently deciding to up the shenanigans.

The two proceeded to pout, cross their arms in unison and whine "What's so funny?"

The rest of them were sent into hysterics as Charlie and Emily continued with the hilarity.

Stomach hurting from laughing so hard, Silena stood up straight and noticed Zack on the ground giggling breathlessly, Lily was grinning stupidly and Ethan was shaking his head in amusement. Emily and Charlie were ignoring them all as they poked at each other and snickered as well as continuing to insult each other in creative ways.

Hearing someone clear their throats behind them, they all quickly sobered up as they turned toward the new person or persons.

Seeing it was Silena and Charlie's moms with Lily, Zack and mine's dads, they somewhat relaxed and called out various greetings.

Looking at us in clear amusement, Annabeth spoke up first "What are you guys doing?"

Charlie grinned mischievously "We're just goofing off."

The parents chuckled and this time Piper spoke up "Well we came out here to grab you all for capture the flag in half an hour."

Immediately she and her cousins perked up, they loved Capture the Flag, whenever there was the rare time all of them were on the same team they dominated the game and alternatively when they were on separate teams they tried their best to outdo one another. It usually ended up being a stalemate between the six of them while their teams duked it out themselves.

Ethan eagerly asked "What are the teams!"

Looking surprised at how excited they all looked, Jason spoke up next "It's the Hunters of Artemis vs. Camp Half-Blood."

The six of them grinned at each other and exchanged glances, already planning how they were going to win.

They were going to dominate this game.


	6. Let the Games Begin

**(AN! Hey everybody reading this, I just wanted to thank you all for so much for reading my story and all the positive feedback I've gotten from you all! I sincerely hope I continue to make a story you like and want to keep reading! Also I wanted to say after this chapter I'm going to be setting a schedule that I'll let you guys know what it is when I post the next chapter! Okay Authors Note over I'll let you guys get on with the story. Bye! *waves excitedly* See you all at the end of the chapter!)**

 **(Silena POV)**

High up in a tree guarding the flag with Lily and Zack, Silena had to admit that she had missed this. The anticipation of a fight along with the determination to do the mission that had been laid out for you, she had a stupid grin on her face and Silena knew it wasn't going to disappear for a LONG while.

Turning a little in her position in the tree, she spotted Zack loitering around the flag playing bait like they'd planned with Lily in a tree to her left, prepared to swoop down with Silena when the attackers came for their flag.

Our flag itself was in a small clearing surrounded by rocks, stuck in a hole they had found that did a brilliant job of hiding it in plain sight, Zack was about five feet from it, appearing like he was lost in the clouds bored out of his mind.

Silena was getting a little bored for real though; it had been an hour and half since the game started after all and no one had come over to the flag yet, they hadn't even seen their own teammates near here.

She glanced around the area wondering when they were going to get some action when Lily abruptly called out "Charlie what are you doing here? You're supposed to be getting the flag with Ethan and Emily!"

Silena turned to look at her blonde cousin as she and Lily both jumped down from their spots in the trees, Silena seeing Zack perking up, abandoning his bored façade, walking over to Charlie as well. Coming to a stop in front of him with the other two they waited for him to speak, catching their looks and fading patience, he started explaining.

"Ethan and Emily are working with the Athena and Ares cabins to take one last run at the flag, they crushed us in the beginning but we started gaining traction about forty five minutes ago. But defense for you guys has taken a beating so I was sent back to help you guard the flag while our team grabs theirs."

Nodding our heads, we began to go back to our previous positions, Charlie saying he would find a hiding place near the rocks and promptly disappeared. Shaking her head at his ability to vanish better than Zack at times, Silena started the climb back to her spot, sitting lower on the tree this time.

As soon as her ass settled on the branch she picked as her spot, an arrow came out of nowhere and hit maybe two inches from where her ear was.

Swearing impressively, Silena flipped out of the tree and landed on her feet, having already pulled out her daggers on the way down.

Looking around she saw Zack pulling his sword from the ground subtly and Lily tumbling out of her tree, her dagger pulled out as well.

Seeing her alleged attacker come out of the woods, Silena saw that it was one of Thalia's lieutenants named Phoebe. Cursing once again, Silena readied herself to get her ass kicked, after she had nothing on Phoebe in the way of skills. The only way she would be able to defeat her would be if she had help and Lily, Zack and Charlie had their hands full with the other hunters.

Facing her opponent, Silena took a deep breath and let it out, hoped Phoebe would be slightly merciful and charged her. Apparently Thalia had told her about their parents escapades because she didn't look surprised at Silena's sudden lunge toward her. Paring her strike, Phoebe started to attack her, forcing Silena to go on the defensive lest she get stabbed.

Chancing a look at her cousins, Silena saw Lily and Zack back to back against three hunters of their own and doing moderately well while Charlie was near the flag going after two other hunters easily, the only reason he hadn't beaten them yet being that he was busy checking on me and the other two.

Catching his eye as she ducked under one of Phoebe's jabs, they exchanged a quick smile before returning to their respective battles.

As she focused her complete attention on her fight, Silena noticed that she had gotten a few small cuts from the hunters' sword. Frowning, she put more effort into dodging, hoping that her team would get the flag before she got her ass kicked.

Huffing as she jumped over one Phoebe's swings, Silena scrambled to find a way to beat her; it was almost impossible going through it in her head. She was like a thousand years old, had a ton more skill than Silena did and knew how to take any opponent down.

Growing frustrated with the situation, Silena ducked close to her and slashed her dagger only to be surprised when she managed to slice her arm a little bit. Apparently, she was just as surprised as Silena since she quickly jumped away from her and looked at Silena in shock.

Phoebe narrowed her eyes "How did you do that?"

Silena didn't have answer for her; _she_ was wondering how she did that! Silena had never been able to get a hit on ANY Hunters of Artemis before when they were training her and her cousins to go to the past, she had started getting close but they had left before she could.

Shaking her head Silena quickly called out "Why? You scared of little old me?" putting on a false bravado. Phoebe glared and tightened her grip on her sword.

"I am most definitely not scared of _you,_ little girl." She growled charging at Silena and put more power in her swings.

Cursing for the third time in a row, Silena wondered how this was her life. The clang of their weapons hitting each other made her focus back on their fight and stop thinking about stuff she would probably need to talk about in therapy someday.

The two continued their fight with Phoebe sending furious swings Silena's way and Silena desperately ducking, jumping, and rolling out of the way so that her head stayed attached to her body, until she stepped on loose rock and came crashing into the ground painfully on her back.

Phoebe smirked and pointed her sword at the middle of Silena's chest, digging the tip into the skin there. Silena winced slightly and kept her body still, hoping she hadn't made Phoebe too mad.

"So do you giv-"Phoebe was cut off with a _whoosh_ of water slamming into her at high speed, sending her head over heels into a rock conveniently placed beside them.

Cringing at the sound of her head hitting the rock, Silena climbed to her feet and saw Charlie two feet away from her, hand outstretched with a pissed look on his face. Schooling his expression, he turned to her and arched an eyebrow inquisitively at Silena.

Answering his unspoken question, she said "I'm fine, barely a few scratches I promise."

Nodding, he turned away to walk towards the others to go question them about their heath as well.

Leaving him to his mother hen tendencies, Silena looked over Phoebe, noting the wicked bump on her and concluded that she probably had a small concussion and some bruised ribs but was otherwise okay.

Just as she went to start tying her up, the horn that signaled the end of the game went off. Looking over at their flag, Silena noted that it was still there which meant that their team had won the game. She heard Zack and Lily cheer, high fiving and hugging each other in celebration.

Silena turned her gaze over to Charlie and said "I've got five on it being Ethan who got it over the line."

Smirking in amusement, he shook his head "I accept, seeing as it was totally Emily who did it.

Laughing together, they began gathering up the huntresses who had been knocked out, Phoebe and the two hunters Charlie had been fighting, while leading the other three out of the woods; all of them with shocked looks on their faces at the fact that the four cousins had beaten them, both in battle and at the game.

Fifteen minutes later they appeared out of the woods near the pavilion and started walking over there, noticing most of the camp was already there and stopped at the medical tent that the Apollo had set up getting shocked looks as they dumped the unconscious hunters on the beds and walked back out, leaving the campers in there doing their best impression of goldfish.

Ambling over to the Ares table, the four of them were amused to note that Ethan and Emily were being hailed as heroes for getting the flag over the line while the three hunters that were still with them made a B-line towards their table.

As the four of them shoved their way over and sat next to them Annabeth, who was next to them, spoke up "So you four, how was guarding the flag?" with a suspicious look in her eyes.

Charlie cleared his throat, a nervous tick he had that reared its head when he was about to lie, said "It was lucky timing these guys had" he jabbed his thumb to the side at Ethan and Emily "or we would have been toast."

Annabeth hummed in her 'something is fishy about you and I WILL find out what it is' way that scared the crap out of us when we were kids. Charlie just flashed a toothy grin that he had gotten from his dad at her causing Annabeth to look slightly startled.

Panicking mentally, Silena was about to speak up when Lily beat her to it "So how DID you guys get the flag and does it have anything to do with why the hunters are pouting over there?" gesturing to the table the hunters were at looking very disgruntled at their streak being broken.

As everybody clamored to the story, Silena looked at her Godmother, wondering how suspicious she was of them and whether she would wait and speak up in private or screw them over in public, personally Silena hoped it was the former instead of the latter.

Otherwise they were going to have a LOT of explaining to do.

 **(So that's the end of the chapter! I wonder what Annabeth is suspicious about? And what are the hunters going to do know that their precious streak of kicking Camp Half- Bloods ass is broken? Find out next time on Fated to Save! Bye!)**

 **(Also if you want the answers to some of your guys' questions scroll down!)**

M.J. Lyte- _Thank you for being the first to review my story! The only reason I didn't do this sooner is because I was debating whether you guys would like it or not! But I decided what the hell right? You guys would let me know if you liked it or not._

I am a Hippocrite- _No it will not turn into the prophecy of thirteen because the only reason these guys are here is to prevent Tartarus from breaking, they aren't trying to mess with or be involved with the prophecy. The 'Heroes' of the prophecy are still the original seven the kids are tagging along only because Gaia is a massive bitch and broke Tartarus. But good idea! Thanks for reviewing!_

EspeonAuraGirl55- _Thank you I think? I don't what Awakening is but I'm going to assume it's a compliment until someone tells me otherwise. Thanks for reviewing!_

RosettaQueen20- _Wow you're the only person to review twice so far thanks so much! You have really kind words to say about this and I'm so happy! As for your question, shhhhhh, you'll find out next chapter._


	7. Mother and Son Bonding

**Just so you guys know I will be posting on Tuesdays and Fridays!**

 **(Charlie POV)**

Some days he hated the fact that his mother was as smart as she was since it always got him in trouble. His dad claimed it was one of the things he loved most about her but Charlie was very much on the fence about it.

During Capture the Flag when they were defending it and Charlie had blasted Phoebe with water he hadn't even thought about what he was doing, Charlie just saw Silena with a sword pointed at her and reacted. He didn't think about anyone seeing him do it since all the hunters were in the know about who they were. He should have since when he turned his head to check on Lily and Zack, his heart dropped to his feet when Charlie caught a flash of blonde hair and furious grey eyes and immediately knew they were screwed.

Subtly watching his mother eat dinner, Charlie wondered when she was going to come over to him and confront them about what she saw. After all it's not exactly normal for an alleged son of Athena to be throwing around water all willy-nilly like.

Charlie had thought she would pull him aside after the post game meeting/celebration ended but she just disappeared, taking Thalia with her, to what Charlie assumed was an interrogation that was unsuccessful when they appeared two hours later; Annabeth with an angry and disgruntled look on her face while Thalia had adopted an anxious one.

Sighing in defeat he thought over what to do, on one hand Charlie could leave it alone and let her come to him or he could man up, go over there and see if she would let him explain before doing anything drastic.

Sighing once again this time in resignation, Charlie stood up and walked over to Annabeth and cleared his throat. "Excuse me but could I have a word with you? Alone?"

Annabeth turned to look at him and scrutinized him for a few seconds causing Charlie to shuffle his feet, feeling uncomfortable. Deliberating for a few more seconds she nodded and stood up.

"Follow me." She ordered

Nodding, Charlie began walking after her noticing Silena trying to catch his eye. Looking at her, she gave him a look that said 'Are you telling her?' and he gave her one back 'Yep, make sure the brats don't interrupt.'

Silena gave a small nod and gestured to Ethan a few tables away meaning that she would get him to tag team them with her.

Giving a final nod Charlie turned back to his mother, looking at her back as he followed her, reassured that the two of them would be able to control their less responsible cousins.

Realizing that Annabeth was taking the two of them to the Poseidon cabin to have their 'Chat' made him nervous, it also however gave him hope that his mom was on the right track of figuring out who he really was, not that he expected her to figure it out seeing as the actual answer to who Charlie was, was an insane conclusion to come to.

Seeing as while he was stressing in his mind they had come to stand in front of the Poseidon cabin, Charlie let out a breath walked to the door and pushed it open, the cabin feeling that he had the blood of Poseidon in him and welcoming him.

Turning in the middle of the door way Charlie gestured to his mother, who was standing there in shock.

"Are you coming in or what?"

 _OoOoOoOo_

Staring at his mom as she stared back at him, the both of them sitting on Percy's bunk waiting for the other to talk, Charlie remembered why his dad always complained that the two of them were so alike and that he must have pissed someone off for having to deal with it. Of course he would always ruffle Charlie's hair and kiss Annabeth on the cheek so they both knew he was kidding.

Snapping back to reality as his mom huffed "Well are you going to explain or not?"

He swallowed and nodded, biting the inside of his lip. Thinking, Charlie asked "Do you want to ask questions and I answer or do you want me to just tell the story?"

Tilting her head, she studied him for a few seconds before telling him "Tell the story I'll ask questions after."

Nodding, Charlie took a deep breath and began "This is a long story so please don't interrupt."

She nodded and motioned for him to continue.

"When the Seven go on the quest, on the tail end of it Gaia did something to Tartarus we don't know what but it caused monsters to never dissolve and Giants and Titans to come back. Even Chronos came back, luckily da" Charlie cut himself off, getting a look from Annabeth.

" _Percy_ managed to defeat him again with help from the rest of the Seven. I don't know how he did it no one ever told me but all I remember was them coming back looking utterly exhausted and beat-up."

Taking another deep breath he continued "Now after the war ended no one knew that the Giants and Titans were coming back, everyone just assumed that monsters regeneration almost instantly was just the aftermath of the war, no one realized that the war was still going on and that the only thing we did was cutoff the head, Gaia had already accomplished her mission of destroying the world it was just going to take longer than she had anticipated."

"The moment everyone realized that the war was still going on was when Camp Jupiter was destroyed. According to reports I read a couple of Giants and Titans teamed up and destroyed it, the reports also said only about a third of Camp Jupiter made it out with they're lives. I was seven when this happened and the only thing I remember from that day was Nico shadowtraveling to and from Camp coming back with the most injured people he could find and taking them to the Apollo cabin. The less injured ones and anybody who could showed up hours later by Pegasus, the Iris cabin having gone to help them, telling everybody who would listen about what happened."

"It took us a year and a half to get everybody settled, to build new cabins and shore our defenses up. Over the years we learned to never venture out of camp, that got you killed, and that there was no way to kill monsters anymore they just instantly regenerated. Almost six years after Camp Jupiter was destroyed the gods found a way to save us; six of us would go back in time and fix whatever Gaia did to Tartarus before it became permanent. I was thirteen when I was told I would be one of those six."

"The others were Silena, Emily, Lily, Zack, and Ethan and the reason that only the six of us were going was because there was no chance of us running into or past selves seeing as we weren't even thought of yet so there was no chance for any paradoxes to come about. We trained for fifteen months before the Giants finally broke through our wards causing us to do the spell early, resulting in us appearing out of nowhere today."

Ending his tale explaining why they were here, Charlie could see the absolute shock on her face as she absorbed what he told her. Shaking her head in disbelief she asked "Why in the name of the gods should I believe _anything_ you just told me?"

Gathering his courage, Charlie said "Because I'm yours and Percy's son, and because why the HELL would I lie to you about this?"

She continued to shake her head in disbelief "This is crazy, _you're_ _crazy_ , I mean time travel? That's _insane_ Charlie!"

Heart hurting, Charlie begged "Please believe me, please I promise I'm telling the truth! Mom, please believe me."

Not even realizing he said the word mom until she stared at him in shock once again. The two of stared at each other for a few minutes, Charlie trying not to cry and her wondering if she should believe him.

With a determined look on her face, Annabeth let out a soft "I believe you, I don't know why but I believe you."

That caused him to burst into tears, the emotions of the past ten minutes catching up with him. Looking for comfort, Charlie pitched himself into her arms, feeling her hesitate for a second before wrapping him up in a strong hug, caressing his hair and murmuring "I got you, just let it out; I've got you, nothing's going to happen to you here."

Charlie sobbed harder, thankful she believed him. As he sat there in his mother's arms, soaking in her presence, he wondered how they were going to tell the other parents and if it would be this stressful for his cousins too.

Charlie knew the answer to that already though; the entirety of the family was going to need therapy after all was said and done. It was good thing they all had each other as this was going to be the most confusing, heart wrenching months their family would ever have.

Well they were all crazy anyway so it's not like it mattered anyway right?

 **Wow that was interesting! I wonder how Annabeth is going to react when she gets over her shock and realizes that she had five nieces and nephews and that they along with her son were on a quest potentially more dangerous than the one she's about to go on?**

 **Find out next time on Fated to Save!**

EspeonAruaGirl55 – _I looked up the game! It seems cool so thanks for comparing it to my story! And the reason CHB finally won is because Ethan and Emily are the best out of the six at stealth and thievery and were also banking on the hunters underestimating them. Which they did. Thanks for the review!_

 _Didi (guest) – Thanks for your review! I'm so happy that this is one of your top 5 favorites! I hope you continue to like the story!_

 _RosettaQueen20 – Thank you! I hate it when Authors only update like once a month so I don't want to do that to you guys, that's why for my schedule I'm going to TRY to update twice a week I'm not making any promises though. I hope you continue to like the story and pace that I'm going for!_


	8. Early Deadlines and Loveable Dummies

**(Charlie POV)**

 **(Two Weeks Later)**

Spending time with his seventeen year old mother was both amazing and disturbing. Amazing because he was admittedly a mama's boy and he had missed her, but disturbing because well she's _seventeen_ , it was weird!

Still being able to introduce his mother to his cousins and include her in The Plan was a weight off his shoulders; Annabeth was the best tactician Charlie had ever met and probably _would_ ever meet. The night he told her who he was, and after he had his slightly embarrassing breakdown, she had asked him all kinds of questions; about who the others were, what their plan was to tell everybody, and who else knew who they were. She was slightly miffed that Thalia knew before but understood that they didn't really have a choice in the matter.

The morning after the mother/son conversation, having fallen asleep on his dad's bunk together, Charlie introduced her mom to her nieces and nephews resulting in her getting bear hugged in the process by his cousins who were vying for a familiar parental figure to reassure them everything was going to be okay. Which Charlie had to give his mom props, for a teenager who just found out she was a mother to a fourteen year old and an aunt to five other teenagers she handled herself with grace.

She managed to settle the Terrors down, get Ethan to break his stoic exterior, and get Lily and Silena to stop panicking over the plan. His mother was _awesome_!

She had also promised to help them explain and convince the other parents that, no they weren't crazy and yes this is all real, that was going to tough. Hell his mom said the only reason she believed _him_ as soon as she did was because he had Percy's eyes.

Of course a week and a half after telling his mother the truth Lily had an accident in the forge with her dad involving a socket wrench, a blow torch, and peaches that led to Lily having to tell her dad the truth. No one asked for further detail despite the curiosity that was killing them all, nobody was quite sure whether or not it would be worth it to know.

Thankfully his mom had been in the area when it happened and was able to help Lily explain, Charlie thought it showed just how cool Leo was that after the initial explanation he just rolled with the punches and spent time with his daughter.

Bringing himself back to the present however Charlie woke up nervous as all hell, and the reason for that was because today was the day they would be telling the rest of the parents who were at Camp Half-Blood including Will who Zack had been spending as much time with as possible. Annabeth and Leo were going to gather everyone on the mostly finished Argo ll and take the lead on explaining while the Kids stayed quiet, thinking that if it came from them and then they started talking to them it might be a little more believable.

Rolling out of bed Charlie nervously begin gathering his things to shower, hoping the water would calm him down when he hear Ethan call his name from the front door of the cabin.

Dumping his stuff hazardously on his bed Charlie walked over to him, pushing him outside while gesturing for him to speak. "Your mom's moving up the timetable for the plan, Leo and the Hephaestus cabin finished the Argo ll early and they are getting ready to go in two days, we need to do this _now_."

Cursing under his breath, Charlie nodded and started jogging to where the Argo ll was, Ethan by his side. Getting there in less than ten minutes they sprinted onto the boat, nearly bypassing the meeting room/dining room all together causing Ethan and Charlie to tumble into each other as they slid to stop.

Entering the room out of breath Charlie noticed the only people in the room at the moment were his mom, Piper, Will, and Emily. Zack, Lily, Silena, Leo and Jason were all missing; Silena and Leo were probably rounding up the other three as we speak.

Shaking out his limbs in a futile attempt to get rid of his nervous energy, Charlie shot Annabeth a grin, getting one back that he recognized as her 'Don't worry sweet boy, everything is going to be _fine_.' smile. Yes his mother's nickname for him is sweet boy; believe him, Charlie have been trying to escape it for _years_.

Snapping out of his own head, Charlie realized Piper and Will were giving them weird looks for the smile they had shared. Clearing his throat awkwardly he sat down next to Emily, automatically ruffling her hair on the way down, gaining an irritated look and smack on the arm from her. Snickering with Ethan at her reaction Charlie continued to survey the room, noting his mother's look of amusement at their antics while Piper and Will shook their heads ruefully, probably thinking that eventually Emily was going to _really_ smack the two which they weren't wrong about.

Hearing footsteps in the hall coming closer to the room, Charlie turned his head to look at the door, the 'parents' in the room cutting their conversation short to do the same. Seeing the five people he had noticed weren't in the room earlier appear in the door frame and begin to settle around the room, the little ball of nerves in his stomach began expanding.

His mind started to race with panicked questions. 'How would they react? Would they believe us or would they deem us insane? Would they act like parents or pretend that we weren't even here?'

Feeling like he was about to throw up from all the anxiety he was having, he started taking deep breaths to calm himself down along with Silena running a soothing hand through his hair. Giving her a smile, Charlie set his shoulders back and locked his emotions down, they weren't going to do him any good at the moment anyway. Silena gave him one back as she sat down in the chair next to him before greeting Emily and Ethan on his other side.

As she did that Charlie nodded at Zack and Lily as they sat on the other side of Silena, noting that Zack looked worse than Charlie felt, his skin a pale white color with a ting of green while his hands shook a slightly.

Reaching over the back of Silena's chair he put a hand on Zack's shoulder and gave him a confident look when he turned his head. Letting out a shaky breath he gave Charlie a thankful smile before he stared at the table getting his emotions in check like Charlie had done not even a minute ago.

Giving him some semblance of privacy Charlie turned his head to survey the now filled room. His mother was quietly talking with Piper; Leo had pulled Jason and Will into some kind of discussion about the quest from the sounds of it, Silena was bickering with Ethan while Emily observed and threw out comments when she felt it necessary, and Lily was fiddling with something he couldn't get a look at.

Deciding that now was as good of a time as any to begin, he caught Annabeth's eye and gestured for her to start. Nodding at him, she broke away from her conversation with my Aunt and spoke "Okay so I know a few of you are wondering why I called you here, and why the six of them are here." She waved her hand at Charlie and his cousins.

Will nodded "Yeah, I figured this was a prophecy of Seven thing so why am I here?"

Annabeth gave Charlie one last reassuring look "The story will explain it Will. Now the story is long and crazy and pretty unbelievable so I'm going to ask that you please don't interrupt me." She directed the question at Will, Piper, and Jason.

The three of them nodded their heads and got comfortable.

Annabeth let out a confident smile "So this is kind of weird but near the end of the quest Gaia does something to Tartarus."

 _OoOoOoOo_

Watching the expressions on his cousins faces as their parents denied what Annabeth and Leo were telling them made Charlie's heart hurt. He knew exactly how they felt, that minute where his mom completely denied what he told her had been heart wrenching, he was just lucky in the fact that his mother recognized that Charlie had his father's eyes and believed him.

Jason and Will along with Piper had been unwavering in not believing their story for fifteen minutes now; they had actually had to hold Jason down when he tried to leave!

Witnessing the argument continue, Charlie finally had enough; watching Zack and Silena's heartbroken expressions was killing him! Shooting to his feet, Charlie walked over and yelled "Everybody stop!"

Immediately everyone went silent and stared at him. Later when everything was settled Lily would tell him that his eyes had turned stormy and angry, while water had sloshed around in everybody's cups. At that moment in time though Charlie didn't know that, all he knew was that his cousins were hurting because these jerks didn't want to accept the fact that their kids had come from the future and that made him angry.

Glaring at the three of them denying their story, Charlie impatiently asked "What would it take to get you to believe us?" with a slight growl in his voice.

Shifting uncomfortably Piper spoke up "Can you show us any powers you guys have? If you're telling the truth then some of you should have powers right?" she looked a little scared and desperate, for what though he didn't know.

Giving a sharp nod Charlie focused on his open water bottle and pulled the water out of it making random shapes in the air. Seeing Lily light herself on fire, Zack fall into Ethan's shadow and pop up behind Leo scaring the wits out of him and Silena stand up and use the air to levitate, Charlie _knew_ they had to believe them now; after all you can't exactly fake what they were doing.

Chancing a glance at the 'adults' he was pleased to see his mom giving them proud looks, Leo throwing them a thumbs up while he gave Zack a noggie and Will, Piper and Jason staring at the four of them in shock. Feeling smug and a little mischievous Charlie moved the water over their heads and let go, soaking them.

All three of them gasped at the feeling while Zack, Lily, Leo and Emily started giggling hysterically while Ethan, Silena and Annabeth traded amused grins. Charlie just crossed his arms and leaned against the table, happy he had cheered up his family.

Uncaring about the water that had been dumped on him, Jason asked in a dazed voice "You're really our kids? And you really did come from the _future_ to prevent Tartarus from braking?"

Answering while the peanut gallery calmed themselves down, Charlie said "Yup it's all completely true, congratulations Uncle Jase, it's a girl!" cheerfully waving a hand at Silena who waved back with a slightly sarcastic smile on her face.

He sank into a chair and started despairingly muttering "Oh gods I'm a dad to a teenage girl." over and over again.

Leaving him to wallow in his apparent misery, Charlie turned to Will who was staring at Zack recovering from his fit of the giggles, with a look of happiness and longing on his face. Making a snap decision Charlie took a few steps over to him and dragged him over to Zack.

"Talk to each other, hell bond with one another if you can, just lose the dopey look on your face Uncle Will." Charlie told them channeling Emily and her ability to sass people. Getting a disgruntled look from both father and son as they turned toward each other, Charlie backed off and returned to his seat, his mother having replaced Silena by his side as she was talking with her mom while they waited for Jason to end the crisis he was in the middle of at the moment.

Giving an exhausted look to his mom, Charlie put his head on her shoulder and whined "I can't believe we have to tell five other people still, including dad!"

Letting out a small chuckle she ran her fingers through his hair, causing him to cuddle into her shoulder more.

"Don't worry him sweet boy, _I'll_ handle your father." Feeling sympathy for his dad, Charlie mentally prayed she wouldn't hurt him too bad; he still wanted to be born after all.

 _OoOoOoOo_

Elsewhere across the country a green eyed boy shuddered at the feeling of chills going down his spine. The slightly chubby boy beside him noticed and asked "What's wrong Percy?"

Percy answered "I don't know, I just got chills down my back." frowning in confusion.

The petite girl next them spoke up "Maybe your just cold, besides we need to go talk to Reyna now anyway." The two boys nodded and followed her.

Still Percy couldn't help but wonder who was plotting against him and if they were someone he knew. What he did know was that he was dreading finding out what they had in store for him.

 **Poor Percy. His girlfriend and son are plotting against him, he's so abused. Anyway this is Chapter Eight! I hope you enjoyed it as next chapter is the start of Mark of Athena! Also the other parents except for Nico are going to find out about the kids! I wonder what their reaction will be?**

 **Find out next time on Fated to Save! Comic out!**

RosettaQueen20 – _Thank you very much! I'm really happy you like what I'm doing with the OCs. You got part of your wish this chapter, Percy and the parents at Camp Jupiter are finding out next chapter so come back Friday to find out what happens there! Also the kids are going to be sharing rooms with their parents, like Charlie is going to share with Percy, Silena with Piper so on and so forth while Ethan shares with Frank and Zack with Leo._

Guest that I don't know the name of – _Thank you! I appreciate the review!_


	9. An Exploding Statue Yells At Us

**Just a quick disclaimer, I own absolutely nothing involving PJO or HoO! Content in this chapter and onward will involve events, conversations and descriptions from Mark of Athena! All rights belong to Rick Riordan! If you recognize anything from the books, know that I don't mean to claim anything of Rick Riordan's as my own! He is an amazing Author and I'm honored to right a fanfiction based in the fantasy world he created!**

 **(Charlie POV)**

Standing on the deck of the Argo ll on their way to Camp Jupiter, Charlie was wracked with nerves. Here he was about to go on a quest with his teenage parents along with his also teenage aunts and uncles. His dad also still didn't know he even existed yet much less know who he was.

Thankfully his mother is amazing because she already had a plan on how to tell him and how to make him believe them. Hopefully he did because it would be awkward on the quest otherwise.

Luckily all the parents at Camp Half-Blood believed them after they showed them their powers. Piper and Jason had spoiled Silena rotten in the week after being told who she was, they stole her away after a half an hour of reexplaining the story and telling them everything they were allowed to be told about their kids quest, which sadly was very little.

But they took her for a small family meeting and returned an hour later with red rimmed eyes but happy expressions on their faces. Jason constantly holding the two girls protectively like they would disappear if he let go.

Will and Zack had disappeared as well but were only gone for fifteen minutes, returning to our meeting room refusing to let each other out of the bear hug they had each other in, Will having tucked Zack under his chin holding him tight and running his fingers through his hair while Zack seemed to try his best to burrow in to his father.

No one could blame any of them though since Leo and Lily rarely left each other's sides, and Annabeth and him had fallen asleep on his dad's bunk when Charlie told her the truth. Truth be told him and his cousins had worked themselves into such a stressed state that when their parents actually believed and accepted them, the kids just never wanted to let go. Their parents thankfully shared that idea as well.

The day before they left for Camp Jupiter though Will had raised hell wanting to come on the quest to be with his son leading to a two-hour long argument trying to prevent him from coming since we needed him here at Camp.

Finally, he agreed very reluctantly and made the other parents swear up and down that they would protect Zack with their lives which they readily agreed to. The goodbye between father and son was hard to watch since despite the fact it had only been two days since they had told Will, Jason and Piper the truth. Will had come to adore his son and told Zack in no uncertain terms that he was to come back unharmed or he was grounded for life.

Having to watch the goodbye made Charlie reevaluate the plan for minute, resulting in it frustrating the hell out of him, knowing that they had to bring Zack along or the plan wouldn't work. Charlie then proceeded to promised Will that he would make sure Zack came home safe and sound only for him to look at the fourteen year old and tell him that he wanted _all_ of the kids back home and that they would not be taking _any_ unnecessary risks or he would lock the six of them in the infirmary for a month before he quickly huddled him and the rest of his cousins into a group hug.

That had been two days ago and now they were near the Roman camp. His mom was doing her version of freaking out, having already paced the deck, triple checking that the ballistae were locked down, confirmed that the slightly unnecessary white flag was flying from the mast and had reviewed not just the plan but the backup plan and the backup plan for the backup plan with everyone on board.

Lily had already told him if she wasn't so sure she would get her assed kicked, she would have tried to strangle her by now. Charlie had mentally agreed with her but just told her to go help her dad with the flying. She had grumbled at him but did as she was told.

Charlie had to give his mom props though, she had pulled aside Coach Hedge, the 'chaperone' that they apparently needed for some reason, and convinced him to go to his cabin and watch reruns of MMA championships.

Everything was in order, Zack and Lily were downstairs doing something in the mess hall, Ethan was up in the perch, Lily was with her dad, and Silena was talking with her mom. Everything was going smoothly; the Romans spotted them, sounded their horns and were coming to meet them just like they had planned, and then of course that's when the exploding statue showed up.

Charlie had been looking with his mom at New Rome when something behind them went _BOOM!_ Annabeth and Charlie almost got knocked overboard. The both of them spun around and stared in mild shock the extremely enraged statue.

"Unacceptable!" he shrieked loudly.

He had exploded into existence on the deck from what Charlie could tell. Some kind of yellow smoke rolled off his shoulders. Cinders popped around his curly hair. From the waist down, he was on a literal pedestal, and from the waist up he was an unbelievably muscular guy. Charlie decided that those didn't count since they were carved into him.

"I will not let weapons inside the Pomerian Line!" He announced sounding like two-year-old. "I _certainly_ will not have Greeks!" saying the word Greek like it was the worst word in the world making Charlie scowl and shift angrily, Annabeth placing a placating hand on his arm.

Jason shot them a reassuring look that didn't reassure Charlie at all.

"Terminus" he confidently said. "It's me. Jason Grace."

The statue, Terminus, scowled and grumbled "Oh, I remember _you_ , Jason. I thought you had better sense than to consort with the enemies of Rome."

Indignantly Jason began saying "They're not enemies- "only for Piper to smoothly take over. "That's right. We just want to talk. If we could- "

"Ha!" The statue rather rudely snapped making Silena scowl and tense up. "Don't try that charmspeak on me, young lady. And put down that dagger before I slap it out of your hands!"

Piper glanced at her dagger, looking slightly surprised she was still holding it. "Um…okay. But how would you slap it? You don't have arms."

Cringing at her question Charlie expected the yelp from Piper as she dropped her dagger, which was smoking and sparking, while Terminus the jerk snapped "Impertinence."

"Lucky for you I've been through a battle," the marble moron announced. "If I were at full strength, I would have blasted this flying monstrosity out of the sky already!"

"Hold up" Leo stepped forward, waving his Wii remote, Lily right next to him looking incensed on his behalf. "Did you just call my ship a monstrosity? I _know_ you didn't do that."

Annabeth stepped forward in the hopes of calming everyone down while Charlie snuck over to where Zack and Emily had finally appeared looking confused and tense. Gesturing for them to stay, he stepped in front of them acting as shield while his mom kept the peace, Ethan suddenly appearing by Silena's side as he surveilled the situation.

"Lets all calm down" Annabeth raised her hands, showing that she was weapons less. "I take it you're Terminus, the god of boundaries. Jason told me you protect the city of New Rome, right? I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of- "

"Oh, I know who _you_ are!" Terminus interrupted and glared hatefully at her, steadily getting more on Charlie's nerves making him want to punch the statue. "A child of _Athena_ , Minerva's Greek form. Scandalous! You Greeks have no sense of decency. We Romans know the proper place for _that_ goddess."

Annabeth's jaw clenched while Charlie balled his fists and prepared to take a step toward the statue that was starting to enrage him, only for Emily and Zack to grab his arms and force him to stay in place.

He took a few deep breaths to calm down while Annabeth asked through clenched teeth "What exactly do you mean, _that_ goddess? And what's so scandalous about- "

"Right!" Jason abruptly cut her off looking slightly afraid. "Anyway Terminus, we're here on a mission of peace. We'd love permission to land so we can- "

"Impossible" the god squeaked like a hamster. "Lay down your weapon and surrender! Leave my city immediately!" the god contradicted himself.

Charlie exchanged looks with his cousins, debating on a plan, while Leo asked "Which is it? Surrender or leave?"

"Both!" Terminus said, his voice steadily getting more high pitched the longer the conversation went on. "Surrender, then leave. I am slapping your face for asking such a stupid question, you ridiculous boy! Do you feel that?"

"Wow" Leo said, distinctly unimpressed with the statue. "You're wound up pretty tight. You got any gears in there that needed loosening? I could take a look."

He dropped his Wii remote in his magic tool belt and took out a screwdriver to tap at the gods pedestal.

"Stop that!" He cried acting as if Leo had violated him. Another tiny explosion caused Leo to drop his screwdriver. "Weapons are _not_ allowed on Roman soil inside the Pomerian Line."

Piper looked slight confused "The what?"

Jason took pity on her and answered "City limits."

"And this entire ship is a weapon!" Terminus said. "You _cannot_ land!"

The six kids were still bickering about a plan entirely through looks while this was going on. Lily, Zack and Charlie wanted to kick his ass while Ethan, Silena and Emily wanted to try to find a more diplomatic solution first _before_ they potentially made enemies with Rome. Team Kickass (Lily, Zack, Charlie) thought Team Diplomacy (Emily, Ethan, Silena) were spoil sports while they thought the other three were immature. Really, both teams were right about one another.

Suddenly Annabeth ordered Leo to stop the ship, confusing Charlie. After all, why would she stop the ship? He looked over at her and noticed the intense stare she had fixated at the ground below.

Following her line of sight, Charlie realized why she did it. She had found Percy, who was walking towards the Argo ll with his arms around Hazel and Frank with his praetor cape on. Instantly his heart soared and he smiled brightly, his dad was right there!

Hearing Leo question his mother, Charlie turned and said "You heard her. Stop the ship, keep us right where we are."

Leo nodded and pulled out his remote, pulling it upward it, and stopping the ship.

Annabeth got down to business. "Terminus, there's no rule against hovering _over_ New Rome, is there?"

The statue frowned thoughtfully "Well, no…"

"We can keep the ship aloft" Annabeth said, determination in her voice "We'll use a rope ladder to reach the forum. That way, the ship won't be on roman soil. Not technically."

Terminus seemed to ponder this and Charlie had to fight the urge to ask if he was stroking his chin with imaginary hands too.

"I like technicalities," he said as if they were a guilty pleasure of his. "Still…"

Annabeth immediately pounced on him. "All our weapons will stay aboard the ship. I assume the Romans, even those reinforcements marching toward us, will also have to honor your rules inside the Pomerian Line if you tell them to?"

"Of course," Terminus said in a snobbish tone "Do I look like I would tolerate rule breakers?"

"Uh, Annabeth…" Leo spoke up with a glance at the kids first. "You sure this is a good idea?"

Annabeth closed her fists tightly and thought for second before she nodded and said "It'll be fine. No one will be armed. We can talk in peace. Terminus will make sure each side obeys the rules." She refocused her attention on the statue. "Do we have an agreement?"

Terminus sniffed haughtily "I suppose. For now. You may climb down your ladder to New Rome, daughter of Athena. _Please_ try not to destroy my town."

Charlie let out a relieved breath but then realize that the fun hadn't actually started yet. They still had to tell his dad about him.

 **That's it! Chapter nine is complete! I wonder what the Romans will do? Hell, what will Percy do? And I wonder what the Eidolons will do now that the kids are here? And I know I said Percy and the Roman parents would know this chapter but it was a long one so in the next chapter they will know!**

 **See you next time on Fated to Save!**

RosettaQueen20- _I was so excited to see this comment, like yesssss._

hi (weird name bro)- _No…. Sorry._


	10. Dinning with Family Is Always Fun

**So, in celebration for this being the longest chapter I've written yet, I'm posting early! Don't worry I'll still post on Tuesday, I already have it written and edited so have no fear! The ComicNerd is here! To entertain you at least. Anyway, Enjoy! Comic out!**

( **Silena POV)**

Watching Annabeth flip Percy on his ass was the highlight of Silena's day. The moments before that however had been adorable. The two of them rushing to each other at the same time and Percy wrapping his arms around Annabeth was simply amazing and catching Charlie smiling brilliantly at them, carefree for the first time in while and ecstatic his parents were together and happy, caused Silena and the rest of her cousins to smile as well.

Of course, the moment she flipped him their smiles turned into hysterical laughter even as some of the Romans rushed forward and cried out. Thankfully Reyna yelled "Hold! Stand down!"

Forcing themselves to calm down as Annabeth threatened Percy before letting him up, Silena giggled breathlessly while her dad awkwardly said "So, yeah…It's good to be back."

As Jason introduced Piper and Leo, she finally managed to stop smiling like a fool and spotted Tyson along with Mrs. O'Leary who was the Jacksons' family 'pet'.

Waving at him as she nudged Charlie to do the same, Silena watched Tyson's face light up as he waved back at them. They (meaning Silena and her cousins) had all met Tyson two weeks before he left for the Roman Camp and ended up explaining who they were to him once he said Charlie smelled and she quoted "Like brother Percy but also like Annie." Resulting in them telling him and making him promise not to tell Percy.

Smiling as the rest of her cousins took notice of who the two of them were waving at and copied them while the 'adults' talked with each other, she noticed Percy staring hard at Charlie who had taken note and stared right back. Silena wondered if Tyson had spilled the beans before they had even gotten there.

Finally tuning back into the conversation around her as she left the two Jackson boys to their stare off, Silena saw Annabeth holding out her hand and saying "I only attack my boyfriend like that. Pleased to meet you."

Reyna clasped her hand "It seems like we have a lot to discuss. Centurions!"

A few Roman campers hustled forward, Frank and Hazel appearing on either side of Percy. Hazel was looking intently at Leo though, and Silena suddenly remembered stories from both of them about a guy named Sammy from Hazel past who was Leo's great grandfather and looked startlingly like him.

Silena hoped Emily and Lily's presence would be able to cut out the drama surrounding them and Frank as well as stopping Frank from being such a jerk.

Otherwise she was sure Charlie and Lily were both going to kick his ass. Lily because she loved her dad and was very protective of him and Charlie because he absolutely _despised_ drama between family members. He actively smacked anyone who tried to start it.

Sighing in resignation as Reyna ordered her officers to tell the legion to stand and inform the kitchen to prepare a welcoming feast, Silena was ready to smack Octavian when he whined at Reyna. Percy and Charlie snapped out of their intense staring as the augur spoke.

"You're letting these intruders into the _camp_?" He scowled. "Reyna, the security risks- "

"We're not taking them to the camp, Octavian." She sent him a look that screamed _don't mess with me._ "We'll eat here, in the forum."

"Oh, _much_ better," He grouched, treading on thin ice already if the look in Reyna's eyes was to go by. "You want us to relax in the shadow of their warship."

Charlie, Ethan and Silena shook their heads as Reyna slowly started looking more furious with the idiot that was Octavian. _Everyone_ knew you didn't question Reyna's authority, you just didn't do it. Unless you're Octavian the brainless of course and have an inherent death wish.

"These are our guests." She snapped every word making all the kids cringe at the memories of that tone. She had only ever used it when they did something spectacularly stupid and almost got themselves killed. "We will welcome them, and we will talk to them. As augur, you should burn an offering to thank the gods for bringing Jason back to us safely."

Percy stepped in and sassily said "Good idea, go burn your bears, Octavian."

Reyna looked like she was trying not to smile as she told Octavian "You have my orders. Go."

Silena leaned over to Charlie and whispered "Looks like Uncle Percy's always been a sarcastic ass."

Charlie chuckled as the officers went to do as they were ordered, Octavian shooting Percy a loathing look as he did so.

Silena leaned back and paid attention as Percy said "Don't worry about Octavian. Most of the Romans are good people- like Frank and Hazel here, and Reyna. We'll be fine." He slipped his hand into Annabeth's as he finished.

Silena winced slightly at the look on Annabeth's face. She wondered how Percy could be such a dunce sometimes.

Annabeth seemed to swallow back any nerves she had as she repeated Percy's sentence. "We'll be fine."

"Excellent," Reyna said, giving Jason a look that had Silena and Ethan shifting uncomfortably. "Let's talk, and we can have a proper reunion."

 _OoOoOoOo_

As she sat at her table for lunch with Emily on her right and Lily on her left, Silena wished they could stay at the Roman camp forever and not do their stupid quest since it was so nice on the outside she could only imagine how it looked on the inside.

They sadly could not as was explained to them over lunch as the demigods around their table shared war stories.

Jason had been in the middle of telling everyone about his quest with Piper and Leo when Octavian bulldozed his way into the conversation.

"Impossible!" he dramatically cried "That's our most sacred place. If the giants had imprisoned a goddess there- "

"They would've destroyed her," Piper stepped in, momentarily taking over for Jason "And blamed it on the Greeks, starting a war between the camps. Now be quiet and let Jason finish."

Giggling at her mom treating him like a five-year-old, Silena watched Jason give her a thankful look before continuing.

"So," he cleared his throat "that's how we found out about the earth goddess Gaea. She's still half asleep, but she's the one freeing the monsters from Tartarus and raising the giants. Porphyrion, the big leader dude we fought at the wolf house; he said he was retreating to the ancient lands- Greece itself. He plans on waking Gaea and destroying the gods by… what did he call it? _Pulling up their roots_."

The kids shifted shifted restlessly, none of them liked remembering what their parents had to do despite the fact the six of them might have the more dangerous quest.

Emily tiredly laid her head on Charlie's shoulder, who was on Emily's right side, making him look down at her before he shifted and cajoled her into laying down with her head in his lap and her feet in Silena's.

Giving her a sympathetic look, Silena rubbed her calves soothingly while focusing her own attention back on the rest of the table.

She caught the end of Percy's sentence "….Our own encounter with Queen Dirt Face."

As Percy recounted his side of the story Silena nudged Charlie and gave a questioning look, asking him when he was going to pull aside his dad along with Hazel, Reyna and Frank and explain who he, Emily and Ethan were.

He gave her one back that said _'Soon_.'

Silena returned it with another of her own ' _It had better be soon, otherwise I'm telling them right here and now_.'

He gave her an outraged one but sulkily nodded a moment later. Feeling accomplished, Silena turned back to the table noticing her mother giving her an amused look over the exchange with Charlie. Silena gave her a smile and took a bite of her lunch.

Percy finished his story and Jason whistled appreciatively. "No wonder they made you praetor."

Octavian decided to stick his nose in the conversation again. "Which means we now have _three_ praetors! The rules clearly state we can only have two!"

"On the bright side," Percy said cheerfully, "both Jason _and_ I outrank you, Octavian. So, we can _both_ tell you to shut up."

Charlie chuckled quietly while he ran his fingers through a mostly asleep Emily's hair, while Octavian turned an interesting shade of purple.

Jason gave Percy a fist bump while Reyna gave a small smile.

"We'll have to figure out the extra praetor problem later," she said. "Right now, we have more serious issues to deal with."

"I'll step aside for Jason," Percy said, shrugging. "It's no biggie."

"No _biggie_?" Octavian squeaked incredulous. "The praetorship of Rome is _no biggie_?"

Percy ignored him completely, causing Leo, Lily and Zack to give out stifled giggles, and turned to Jason "You're Thalia Grace's brother, huh? Wow. You guys look nothing alike."

"Yeah, I noticed," Jason said back dryly. "Anyway, thanks for helping my camp while I was gone. You did an awesome job."

Percy nodded and returned the sentiment. "Back at you."

Silena felt Annabeth kick Percy's shin. "We need talk about something that affects most of the people at this table, including you Percy."

He nodded. "Right, the prophecy of Seven."

Annabeth looked conflicted. "Well, yes we need to talk about that but I'm talking about something else."

"Like what?" He said, tilting his head slightly like a dog, a move Silena recognized because Charlie did it all the time.

Charlie cleared his throat "Like why my cousins and I are here." He gestured around vaguely.

"Oh, I already know who you are. You're mine and Annabeth's son." Percy said with a slight smirk on his face.

Everybody stared at him for a moment before Lily exclaimed "How?!"

His smirk widened as he said "You made Tyson promise not to tell me, you never said anything about Hazel and Frank."

Ethan, Charlie and Silena slapped a hand to their foreheads and groaned while Zack and Lily muttered despairingly, Emily still napping on Silena and Charlie's laps.

Annabeth shook her head and disbelievingly said "And you're okay with this? I mean we have a fourteen-year-old son who's on a quest to fix Tartarus, Seaweed Brain. That's kind of bizarre."

Percy nodded his head "I accepted how bizarre my life would be when I realized I was a demigod. Having a fourteen-year-old son from the future on a dangerous quest is just another day at the office. Though I am going to grill him about having to fix _Tartarus_." Percy gave Charlie a _look_ as he finished talking.

Charlie cringed and said "It's a long story Dad. But its one I'll tell you right now." he winced as Silena stomped on his foot when he was about change the subject.

Percy gave her an amused look as he said "I'm waiting."

Charlie let out a sigh and told him the story he had given five times now. Silena and Ethan cringed a little bit when they saw the outrage on Percy, Reyna, Hazel, and Frank's faces when he got to the part about Camp Jupiter being destroyed but thankfully didn't interrupt Charlie.

Charlie quickly finished the story and fell silent so that the four of them could process it. They didn't have very long before Octavian, the ass spoke up "Impossible! You lie! This is just some filthy Greek trick! You're not even his son! That daughter of _Athena_ is just some Greek whor-"

He was abruptly cut off by Charlie snapping out his hand causing all the water to rise from everyone's cups to form a trident pointed at his throat.

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you." Charlie spoke in a cold, wrath filled voice while his eyes darkened multiple shades. "Because if I don't kill you, I promise my father will."

Silena turned to look at Percy when he spoke, who looked absolutely furious and deadly as he laid his hand on Annabeth's shoulder.

"Yes, I will. Still think he's not my son Octavian?" He spoke in the same tone as Charlie had. Octavian didn't say anything angering Percy further.

"Speak augur. Yes or No, pick one." Percy snapped, looking at the end of his admittedly short patience when it came to his family.

Octavian shook his head as much as he could and said "He's your son, Praetor Jackson."

Percy scowled "Good, now you are going to apologize to the mother of my future child and get the hell out of here."

The augur nodded franticly and Charlie dropped the trident, soaking his lap as he turned and bowed his head at Annabeth. "My apologizes, Miss Chase I don't think of you as a- "

"A whore, Octavian? Well I would hope not as that would mean very bad things for you." She casually threatened him, face looking like it was made of ice.

"Yes Ma'am." Octavian swallowed, looking terrified.

Annabeth nodded and gestured at the door. "Well then I guess you should do as your praetor said, shouldn't you?" she asked rhetorically, no emotion coming across her face.

He nodded hurriedly and speed walked out of the hall, paling further as he caught the furious looks on the entire family's faces.

Staring at his back as he ran away with his tail between his legs, Silena shook her head at the sheer idiocy she had just witnessed. Only a true moron dared insult Annabeth Chase Jackson when both her son and husband were in the room.

Everyone began to relax again when they heard a sarcastic voice say "Well, if he keeps that up he's dead meat."

Everyone turned to look at Emily as she sat up from her position on Charlie's lap. He and Silena exchanged looks and laughed along with everyone else as people made various agreements toward her statement.

Piper spoke up, looking faintly amused, and said "Now that that's over with, can we move on to the Prophecy of Seven please?"

Reyna nodded "Of course." She cleared her throat " _Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall- "_

" _An oath to keep with a final breath, and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."_ Annabeth smoothly took over.

Everybody but the kids and Leo stared at her. The kids because they were used to it and Leo because he was too focused on sticking his pinwheel he had made with Lily out of aluminum taco wrappers into passing wind spirits.

Frank leaned forward and asked "Is true you're a child of Min- I mean, Athena?"

"Yes," She said slightly defensive. "Why is that such a surprise?"

Frank looked caught off guard. "Uhhhhhh- "

"Enough," Reyna said firmly "Annabeth is what she says. She's here in peace. Besides…" she gave Annabeth a look of grudging respect. "Percy has spoken highly of you."

Annabeth flushed slightly and said "Uh, thanks. At any rate, some of the prophecy is becoming clear. Foes bearing arms to the Doors of Death…that means Romans ands Greeks. We have to combine forces to find those doors."

Hazel picked up a ruby and slipped it into her pocket saying "My brother, Nico, went looking for the doors."

"Wait, Nico di Angelo? He's your brother?" Annabeth asked slightly confused.

Hazel nodded as if it were obvious. Annabeth looked like she wanted to ask a million more questions but managed to keep a lid on it, instead just saying "Okay. You were saying?"

"He disappeared," Hazel licked her lips. "I'm afraid…I'm not sure, but I think something's happened to him." She looked slightly scared for Nico.

"We'll look for him," Percy promised looking a little fierce. "We have to find the Doors of Death anyway. Thanatos told us we'd find both answers in Rome- like the _original_ Rome. Thar's on the way to Greece, right?"

Annabeth looked slightly blown away. "Thanatos told you this? The death god?"

Percy nodded and took a bite of his burger, hilariously in sync with Charlie who had taken a bite of his burger as well. "Now that Death is free, monsters will disintegrate and return to Tartarus again like they used to. But as long as the Doors of Death are open, they'll just keep coming back."

Piper twisted the feather in her hair nervously "Like water leaking through a dam." She said.

"Yeah." Percy smiled. "We've got a dam hole."

Immediately Lily, Zack and Emily started giggling at him while Silena and Ethan shook their heads, all of them having heard the story behind that joke. Charlie tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling and whined "How am I related to someone who makes such bad jokes?"

Percy wagged his finger at him "I can and will ground you, young man." He quipped.

Charlie immediately shot back "Mom would never let you do that, Dad."

The two Jackson men smiled brightly at each other, looking for all the world at peace in that moment.

"Play nice, boys. And Seaweed Brain, get on with it please." Annabeth cut in with an amused look.

The two green eyed males automatically turned and chorused "Yes ma'am."

"Anyway," Percy continued. "the point is we'll have to find the doors and close them before we can head to Greece. It's the only way we'll stand a chance of defeating the giants and making sure they _stay_ defeated."

Reyna grabbed an apple from a passing food tray and began using it as a stress ball. "You propose an expedition to Greece in your warship. You do realize that the ancient lands- and the Mare Nostrum- are dangerous?"

"Mary who?" Leo and Lily asked in unison, the father daughter duo messing around with their pinwheels.

"Mare Nostrum," Jason explained, looking amused at his best friend and goddaughter messing around. " _Our Sea._ It's what the Ancient Romans called the Mediterranean."

Reyna nodded. "The territory that was once the Roman Empire is not only the birthplace of the gods. It's also the ancestral home of the monsters, Titans and giants… and worse things. As dangerous as travel is for demigods here in America, _there_ it would be ten times worse,"

"You said Alaska would be bad," Percy told her somewhat cheerfully. "We survived that."

Reyna shook her head. "Percy, traveling in the Mediterranean is a different level of danger altogether. It's been off limits to Roman demigods for centuries. No hero in his right mind would go there."

"Then we're good!" Emily smiled as she sat in-between her parents, who immediately smiled at her. "Because we're all crazy!"

Zack nodded his head enthusiastically "Uncle Leo built the Argo ll which is a top-of-the-line warship. I'm sure it'll get us through."

"She, Zack, it's a she." Lily corrected fiercely.

Zack rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Charlie frowned at them and preemptively cut off the argument that was bound to happen while the 'adults' continued talking. "Hey, knock it off you two. Pay attention."

The two bickering brats grumbled and settled down after he gave them a glare. Ethan, Charlie and Silena gave each other amused looks and tuned back into the conversation happening around them.

Tyson and Ella had walked in during the kids little exchange and apparently managed to insult Leo since he was saying "Did that chicken girl just compare _my_ ship to the _Titanic_?"

Hazel gave him a look. "Ella's not a chicken. She's a harpy. She's just a little… high strung."

"Ella is pretty," Tyson said, causing Charlie and Silena to nudge each other and whisper teasingly in the others ears as Tyson continued. "And scared. We need to take her away, but she will not go on the ship."

"No ships," Ella repeated before looking at Annabeth. "Bad luck. There she is. Wisdom's daughter walks alone- "

Frank stood up instantly. "Ella! Maybe it's not the best time- "

Charlie's eyes widened and gave Emily a sharp look, spurring her to make a quick gesture. A slight shimmer appeared around the group. No one noticed, too busy staring at Ella.

" _The Mark of Athena burns through Rome,"_ Ella continued, clamping her hands over her ears and raised her voice, _"Twins snuff out the angel's breath, Who holds the key to endless death. Giants' bane stands gold and pale, Won through pain from a woven jail."_

Everyone stayed quiet, enough that you could hear a pin drop in their little area. Thankfully nobody outside their family had heard Ella's prophecy.

Charlie flashed Silena a panicked as he rolled to his feet. "I know! Tyson, how about you take Ella to get some fresh air? You and Mrs. O'Leary can take her to some fields or something, okay?"

Tyson nodded at Charlie's words, looking slightly confused, and started walking out with her. Charlie bit his lip before spinning to look at Ethan. "Hey, can you- "

"I'm on it." Ethan cut him off, standing up and striding over to Tyson, beginning to point at a field a little ways away.

Charlie turned to Reyna "Please don't tell Octavian. I don't know _what_ that insecure blowhard will do if he finds out about her."

Reyna studied him for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I won't. But Ella was very loud, how did nobody else hear her?"

Charlie sighed and said "Em, you can let down the barrier now."

Emily nodded and gave a subtle wave of her hand, the barrier shimmering again slightly as it came down, Emily slumping into her dad a little as the spell took it out of her.

"Emily can do a little bit magic here and there, so when Ella said that first line I snapped off a quick look to Emily to put up a sound barrier so no one would go running off to the blowhard." Charlie explained sitting back down after giving Emily a once over.

Reyna looked impressed "How old is she?"

Charlie exchanged looks with the rest of the kids before saying "Twelve and a half."

Reyna hummed and looked at Silena and Charlie. "If you two wouldn't mind, I'd like to talk to you. Alone."

They glanced at each other for a few seconds, weighing their options, before the two turned back and nodded.

She gave a sharp nod and stood up, obviously wanting us to follow. Charlie looked at Lily and asked "Lily, that thing we talked about before we got here. Can you and Zack handle that?"

Silena knew what he was talking about. Before they had landed, the six of them had discussed what to do about the Eidolons and how to prevent them from firing on the Roman camp. They had decided that Lily, Zack and Silena would handle it while the rest distracted everybody else.

Lily gave a confidant nod. "We got it, don't worry."

Silena and Charlie nodded and followed Reyna, wondering what she had to talk to us about.

 **That's it! Chapter Ten is done! It was a bitch and a half writing this thing I'm telling you. The word count when I finished this thing is over 4k long! But it's done and hopefully you'll all like how I did this chapter. If you don't, well tough luck cupcake.**

 **Anyway, I wonder what will happen with the Eidolons? Will the Roman camp still be fired on? And will Octavian live to become such a nuisance to CHB?**

 **Find out next time on Fated to Save! Comic out!**

RosettaQueen20- _I love you. Really, I squeal a little when I see your reviews. But here you go! A really long chapter to sink your teeth into. Enjoy!_

Thesweetscentofbooks- _I update every Tuesday and Friday boo, maybe if I feel like it I'll post a chapter in between but that's my schedule. Sorry. *Shrugs*_


	11. Shit Gets Real, Real Quick

**Okay! It's Tuesday which means a new chapter! There is a little teaser in here about their quest involving Silena and Charlie and I wonder if any of you will be able to figure out it out. *Moves eyebrows up and down* put your answers in the reviews and I** _ **might**_ **tell you if you're right or not.**

 **(Silena POV)**

Charlie and Silena were both nervous and confused, wondering what Reyna wanted to talk to them about. After al,l what would she need to ask them that she couldn't in front of the rest of the family?

As they walked, Silena realized they were heading to the same field Ethan had gone to with Tyson, Ella and Mrs. O'Leary. The two cousins exchanged uneasy looks, nothing good could come from a conversation that needed the two of them and Ethan.

Ethan started walking toward the three of them with a confused look on his face after sending Tyson and Ella somewhere with Mrs. O'Leary shadowtraveling them. They met in the middle of the field and Ethan immediately turned toward Charlie.

"What's going on? Why are you three out here?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Charlie shrugged and hooked a thumb at Reyna. "Ask her. I have no idea."

Reyna gave an amused look at Charlie before answering. "I wanted to talk to you about the main goal of your quest. Fixing Tartarus correct?"

The three nodded, curious as to what she was getting at. Unfortunately, they got their answer a moment later.

"How exactly does one go about _fixing_ Tartarus exactly?" She inquired, watching their expressions intently, narrowing her eyes when they froze.

The trio exchanged quick looks, wondering how much they should tell her. _No one_ had asked them what the plan was for _that_ particular part of the quest, not even the rest of the kids. If they had, they probably would have protested more.

Hell, the only reason Charlie and I had brought Ethan in on this aspect of it was because somebody needed to outside of the two of us and Ethan would understand why we had to do what we had planned.

Reyna quickly called them out on their hesitance to answer. "I want an answer right now. Especially from you." she looked at Ethan specifically, causing him to straighten up.

Before he could answer her though, Charlie did it for him. "Look if we tell you, we need you to promise you won't tell _anybody_. Not Silena's dad, not my dad. _No one_ , okay?"

She nodded. "I promise I won't tell a soul." Charlie sighed and explained it to her. As he did so, her eyes went wide before turning sad as he finished.

"You're very brave, Silena and Charlie, even for the legacies that you are. I won't tell, but I would consider leaving a note or a message of some kind so that they now why you did it."

She and Charlie nodded grimly, Silena speaking quietly. "We've already written one and given it to Ethan. We're as prepared as we can be."

Reyna took on a sad expression. "No amount of preparing will help you with the mission you will be undertaking."

Charlie nodded and said "We know but we can still try." Charlie stood up straight, a confident look in his eyes. Silena just nodded in agreement at his words.

Reyna gave them a small smile. "Well, thank you for telling me. Now if you two don't mind, I'd like to talk to my future son."

They did as she asked, vacating the field so that the mother/son duo could have some privacy for the conversation they were about to have.

As they walked back to the forum, Charlie turned to her with a serious look and asked "Silena, I didn't bully you into doing this right? Because I'm fine with going alone if you decide you can't do this."

She stopped walking, forcing him to stop as well, and glared at him until he fidgeted. "Charles Lucas Jackson, you and I came up with this plan together. I am _not_ backing out now just because you've finally realized how dangerous it is."

"Alright, alright I get it. You're sticking with me on this, I got." He huffed, raising his hands in a 'I surrender' way.

Toning down her glare, Silena grumbled "You had better or I _will_ kick your ass. It's always been the two of us for this Charlie, I'm not changing that now."

He sighed "I know, I just… I don't want to be the reason for getting you killed."

She sighed as well, putting a hand on his arm. "I'm not going to get killed, Charlie, and neither is anyone else. But if I did, I would gladly die if it meant my family, _including you_ , lived."

"I know," He exhaled heavily, causing her bangs to move slightly. "And I would do the same. I just want our family to be whole and stay whole."

Silena nodded, pulling her hand away from his arm. "That's what I want too, CJ."

"You haven't called me that in a while, Lena." He chuckled.

She smiled back. "Right back at you."

They began walking again and she spoke up. "I wonder what they're talking abou- "

A _BOOM_ went off a few hundred feet away from them. Charlie grabbed her by the waist and spun, turning his back to the explosion. After staying in place for a few seconds, she lifted her head and turned, peering around Charlie. The scene made her gasp loudly.

The _Argo ll_ was firing on the Romans and effectively destroying the Senate House. Charlie and Silena exchanged horrified looks before sprinting to the forum.

"What the hell happened? I thought Zack and Lily were keeping a lid on the Eidolons?" Charlie yelled at Emily as they burst into the forum, ducking under a plate of food that was thrown at them, Charlie sending a cup of water back at the guy who threw it.

Emily screamed back, smacking a Roman in the face with a slice of pizza. "I don't know! Zack took Lily back up to the Argo ll after you left with Aunt Reyna and haven't been back since!"

Charlie cursed loudly "Come on! We're going to the ship!"

Emily nodded and jumped down from the table she was on, quickly running over to them. Charlie grabbed her shoulder and shoved her in between her and Charlie for safety while Silena used a move Annabeth had taught her, flipping a Roman over her shoulder into another one.

"Let's go!" Charlie shouted.

The three of them moved out of the forum with difficulty and started making their way to the _Argo ll_ , finally spotting Percy over by a fountain along with Annabeth, Hazel and Frank.

Charlie shoved a Roman out of his way and screamed "DAD! MOM! OVER HERE!"

Percy and Annabeth whipped around, looking relieved when they saw their son. Percy blasted people out of the way with water from the fountain. Silena and Charlie pushed Emily ahead of them, into her mother's arms before getting up themselves, not before Charlie got punched in the face by a random Roman. Percy scowled fiercely and sent an overpowered blast of water at the guy before grabbing Charlie's hand and pulled him up. Annabeth did the same to Silena, pulling her up all the way as she glanced her over before letting go.

"What's going on!" Annabeth hollered, kicking a Roman in the chest.

"We don't know! Everybody on our side is on the ground!" Silena screamed back.

Suddenly Zack appeared behind Charlie and said something in his ear that caused him to swear.

"I'll be right back!" He yelled before Zack gripped his arm and pulled them into a shadow.

"Where did they go?!" Percy screamed at her, blasting a Roman with water.

Silena paused from smacking Romans with a pole she had found on the ground "The _Argo ll,_ I think. Hey, do you know where my parents and Uncle Leo are?"

He and Annabeth pointed to their right. She followed the direction they pointed in and saw the three of them getting pelted with plates and bricks while Jason shielded her mom as he yelled at them to calm down, Leo next to them flinging carefully control flame whips around them.

Swearing, Silena spun and smacked a Roman across the head with her stolen pole, yelling. "Time to go!"

Percy nodded grimly. "Hazel, Frank, you've got to make a choice. Are you coming?"

Hazel looked scared shitless but shoved her helmet on her head and gripped Emily's shoulders. "Of course we are. But you'll never make it to the ship unless we buy you sometime."

Percy and Annabeth shared a look and simultaneously asked "How?"

Hazel whistled. A horse appeared next to her that Silena recognized as Arion, her aunt's trusty stead. She climbed on his back like it was her purpose in life and unsheathed the sword she had strapped to his saddle.

"Send me an Iris-message when you're safely away, and we'll rendezvous." She then pointed at Emily. "You stay with your cousins, Percy or your father, understand me?"

Emily saluted her sassily. Hazel gave a nod and told Arion to go, zipping off and knocking Romans on their asses.

Zack suddenly appeared by Silena's side, startling her. "Charlie took care of it! Octavian got possessed along with some random guy! I dropped them off on that hill" pointing.

Silena scowled. "It would be Octavian! Hey, take Emily and go back up to the ship and stay there. We'll meet you in a few minutes!"

He nodded and grabbed her, fading into a shadow one final time. As he did so I spotted Ethan making his way over, yelling. "What happened?!"

"Octavian and some random guy got possessed and started firing at the city!" she replied, hopping over a sword.

Ethan scowled and muttered. "Awesome, it would be that jackass. Do we know how he got past Zack and Lily?"

Silena shook her head. "No, but Charlie went up there and took care of them. That's why the _Argo ll_ stopped firing."

Ethan glanced around at the chaos surrounding them while Percy asked Frank to go save her parents and Leo from being pelted with stones and food after Jason got knocked out. Silena forced herself to stay where she was and not go over to them.

Ethan turned and asked, "Do you think we can get them to stop attacking us?" as he dodged a plate that was thrown at him.

Silena stared around them and took note of the rage and anger surrounding the Romans. "I don't think so. They're pretty mad."

Ethan sighed and reluctantly agreed. Noticing Percy and Annabeth waving for their attention, Silena grabbed his arm and dragged him behind her.

Percy started gently shoving the two of them over to the ladder connected to the ship and hollered "Get going! Annabeth and I are right behind you!"

The two of them nodded and started climbing up, Ethan pushing her to go first.

Quickly reaching the top, she rushed to over to Lily, who was at the helm, scrambling to get the ship up once everyone was onboard.

"Where are Charlie and Zack?" Silena asked while surveying the deck.

Lily pointed downwards. "They're down below with Emily doing a sweep of the ship before we get out of here!"

Ethan appeared next to them and inquired. "How did Octavian and his lackey get passed you and Zack?"

Lily scowled angrily. "I was downstairs doing one last check of the engine room and Zack was in his cabin. After the first volley we rushed up here and tried to stop them but I got smacked around and Zack almost got stabbed. He went to get Charlie after that."

Ethan growled and Silena frowned, noticing the bruises on her face. They shared a furious look, already planning on how they were going to kill who ever dared hit her.

Lily noticed the look and said "Trust me, I look nowhere near as bad as Charlie does."

Concerned, Silena opened her mouth to ask what happened to him when Annabeth beat her to it.

"What's wrong with my son?" She asked fiercely, Percy right beside her, sharing her expression.

Lily grimaced "He was doing well, kicking their asses when a third guy came out of nowhere and managed to get a piece of him. That's why he's doing a sweep of the ship right now."

The two parents shared a pissed off look. "Where did they get him?" Percy asked.

"The guy sliced into his shoulder pretty good. I don't think he hit bone but it's pretty deep." She said absently, distracted by the controls.

"It's not that bad firecracker, I promise." Charlie said, coming up behind everyone with the Terrors next to him.

Even after being told about his injury, Silena still sucked in a surprise breath when she saw him. Blood oozed from his shoulder and down his chest causing his shirt to be soaked with the crimson liquid.

"Don't lie to me, Fish Boy." Lily frowned as Annabeth gave a surprised curse and rushed toward him with Percy.

She scowled and demanded he take off his shirt so she could look at the wound. Charlie started pulling it off and gave a loud groan when the fabric irritated the wound. Uncle Percy winced sympathetically and helped him take it off.

Hearing a thud behind them, Silena whirled around, shifting defensively in front of Lily, Ethan doing the same to Zack and Emily. Everyone relaxed when they realized it was Frank in dragon form carrying her parents and Leo.

Silena's parents immediately collapsed while Leo only stumbled before running over to the helm and began helping Lily get them out of here.

Turning briefly back toward Charlie to check on him, she saw that his parents were more than capable of taking care of him. Silena turned her attention back to her own parents. She tugged on Ethan's, gesturing toward them, silently asking for help moving them. Ethan nodded and walked over with her, pulling Jason over his shoulder and carrying him downstairs to sickbay. Shaking her head at him, Silena nudged her mom back into conciseness and pulled her up, throwing Piper's arm over her shoulders and half dragged/ half carried her to sick bay.

Once she laid her down in a bed next to Dad's, Silena stepped back and shook her head in disbelief as she felt the ship start to ascend into the clouds.

After all, wasn't this situation supposed to reversed? Oh well, it's not like this family was normal anyway, right?

 **Whooooo! Finally, the quest starts! Also, I'm wondering if you guys like what I did with Octavian? Was it believable?**

 **Anyway! I'm curious, what did Reyna and Ethan talk about? And how are the Romans going to react if they figure out it was Octavian who fired on them and not our loveable, chaotic Greeks? And what secret plan do Ethan, Charlie and Silena have that the other three and the parents except Reyna don't know about?**

 **Find out next time on Fated to Save! Comic out!**

RosettaQueen20- _I love Reyna too! And I didn't want to change too much, only the things I thought the Kids themselves would influence, otherwise I kept it the same. You'll see a bit more of the Kids state of mind and how the future affected them later on during the quest as things get more and more dangerous. And a TON more happened in the future than the Kids have told their parents. You'll find out what that is in later chapters._

Didi (Guest)- _Hello! I haven't seen you in a few chapters! And you can't see it but I TOTALLY blushed hard core when I read your review, saying I could write for Uncle Rick himself is the HIGHEST of praises and I thank you so much for it. And just you wait, I haven't even_ begun _to write cliffhangers yet, I'm just warming up *Cracks knuckles* I'm going to be making you all_ rage _from the cliffhangers I'm gonna drop on you._

EspeonAuraGirl55- _Hi! I haven't seen your comments in while either, welcome back! Of course I put the Dam joke in here! Its a classic! And I_ despise _Octavian and his stupid bears. I have special things planned for him throughout this fic._


	12. Fixing Injuries and Getting Supplies

**Hola! Another chapter! I'm posting this one a little early, usually for Friday updates I post really late Thursday night so you can read it first thing in the morning but I'm kinda afraid I might fall asleep before I do it tonight so here you go! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter because this chapter deals with the aftermath and showing how everybody deals with each other on a quest. Enjoy!**

 **(Silena POV)**

One hour after they beat a hasty retreat away from the Roman camp everyone that was conscious gathered around Leo, who was flying the ship. Charlie was sitting on the floor leaning against his dad, who was on the ground with him rubbing his back as he grimaced in pain, Zack kneeling behind Charlie wrapping a bandage around his injured left shoulder. Thankfully Annabeth had been able to help Zack stop the bleeding and he healed it to the point of it being a deep cut instead of the almost bone deep slash it had been.

Annabeth was next to the three of them, a slight wince on her face at watching her son's own pained expression. Lily was next to her dad helping him, Emily along with her father was a few feet away having a quiet conversation and Ethan and Silena were next to each other, silently waiting for the meeting to begin. Piper was downstairs taking care of Silena's still unconscious father with Coach Hedge.

Zack finished wrapping Charlie's shoulder and stood up, popping his back and walking over to Ethan and Silena, taking on their silent stance. Percy rolled to his feet and dragged his protesting son with him.

Charlie gave a sigh "Alright, I guess we should get this meeting started. We can fill anyone not here in later."

Everybody nodded and moved in closer, creating a misshapen circle. Percy started them off with a question.

"How did three Romans get passed you guys?" He directed toward Lily and Zack causing both of them to scowl.

"Hey, I was checking the engine room and Zack was switching the cabins from a single person room to two-person rooms. If you want blame someone blame Hedge, he's the Satyr." Lily said indignantly.

Charlie immediately jumped in. "Oi! We aren't blaming _anyone_ for this except Gaea, alright? She is the only one at fault for this got it?" he gave glares to the younger three. They reluctantly nodded.

"Good," He then whirled around and glared at Percy. "And you! Were you _really_ going to blame these two for the camp? Cause that would a serious dick move, Dad."

Percy had the decency to look ashamed. Annabeth gave her son a proud look and smacked her boyfriend/future husband on the back of the head and chided him for trying to play the 'blame game'. Percy winced and promptly apologized to Lily and Zack who, after making him sweat it for a few seconds, happily accepted.

Frank shook his head and bemusedly said "We need to find somewhere to land so Hazel can come aboard." Emily nodded her head in agreement.

Leo threw his two cents in next. "We also need to get celestial bronze, lime and tar so Lils and I can fix the ship. I already had Festus search the area and we can get all three in Utah."

Annabeth nodded and asked "Where?"

"The Great Salt Lake." Lily responded.

"Alright, Silena do you mind flying down and telling Aunt Hazel to meet us there?" Charlie asked looking at Silena. She bit the inside of her cheek and mentally ran a few calculations through her head before nodding.

"Yeah I can do that. We finished?" she asked Charlie, not even bothering to look at Annabeth.

Charlie gave a sharp nod and motioned for her to go. Silena gave him a thumbs up and walked over to the railing of the ship and quickly jumped it, smirking at the loud cries from the Parents. She forced the wind around her to catch her body and propel her toward Hazel.

Silena smiled brightly as she shot through the air, she had always loved flying and the rush it gave her. Looking around she quickly spotted Hazel to her left and aimed herself toward her. Flying down next to her, Silena waved at her aunt while she gaped at her in shock.

"Hello Auntie!" Silena cheerfully said, smirking as Hazel continued to gawk.

Hazel shook her head in disbelief. "What are you doing?!"

Silena's smirk grew more pronounced as she said "I'm flying! I also was told to tell _you_ that we're landing in Utah at The Great Salt Lake."

Hazel sighed "Alright, I'll meet you there. Just…. don't die going back to the ship please."

Silena mock pouted "Of course I won't die! You people have no faith in me, I swear." she grumbled as she ascended back toward the ship.

Silena pushed the wind to get her there faster and she landed on the deck of the _Argo ll_ twenty seconds later. She started giggling as she walked over to the group. It seems that when she jumped over the railing she had given the 'adults' heart attacks. All four of them were panicking while the kids were trying their hardest to calm them down.

"She's right there!" Silena's cousins all yelled, pointing behind the parents at her, completely done with them.

They whipped around and exclaimed her name, rushing toward her, Leo tugging her into a tight hug and berating her for scaring him half to death. She just smiled sweetly and patted his back.

Charlie let out an annoyed breath. "Now that you've seen that she's alive, can I go to my cabin and sleep this off?" motioning to his injured shoulder.

Instantly his parents turned around again and ushered him downstairs, Annabeth saying she 'didn't even know why he was still up'. Charlie took it like a champ and just allowed his parents to baby him.

Ethan and Silena chuckled at them and walked a few feet away to spar with each other while Lily and Zack sat down on the ground to watch them. Leo glanced at the two of them curiously but stayed where he was, piloting the ship. Emily and her dad had gone downstairs as well to the mess hall to hang out.

The two cousins went through a few stretches before settling into their stances. Lily rolled to her feet, got in between them and raised her hand.

"The rules of the fight are tap out or count out. No weapons except your bodies and no permanent injuries what so ever. Clear?" She asked, making sure they knew the rules. The two gave a sharp nod.

She grinned manically. "Alright, then FIGHT!" she said, bringing her hand down and diving out of the way.

They grinned at one another and lunged for each other.

 _OoOoOoOoOo_

Silena tried to keep her balance as the ship landed roughly, still mock pouting about losing her and Ethan's spar. To be fair though he had pulled a good move, tripping her after she threw a kick, forcing her leg above her head and pinning her. Ethan grinned triumphantly next her as he barely moved from the landing.

Silena's scowl turned real as she grumbled "Damn ninja." Ethan just laughed at her.

She turned around when she heard Hazel land on the deck, smiling as she heard Leo exclaim. "We're in the middle of a lake! Can that thing fly?"

Hazel gave him a half-annoyed look as Arion whined angrily. "Arion can't fly but he can run across just about anything. Water, vertical surfaces, small mountains- none of that bothers him."

"Oh." Leo stared at the horse in disbelief. Hazel scrutinized him, obvious to the kids that she was searching for any difference in his face from Sammy- Leo's maternal great grandfather and Hazel's best friend before she died. It was kind of awkward to be honest.

Thankfully Coach Hedge broke the staring by coming up and saying "Valdez, does this count as an invasion?"

Leo immediately yelled "No! Um, Hazel, you'd better come with me. I built a stable belowdecks, if Arion wants to- "

"He's more of a free spirt." Hazel interrupted him while slipping out of her saddle, causing him to give her a slightly disgruntled look. "He'll graze around the lake until I call him. But I want to see the ship and my daughter so, lead the way."

Leo nodded and gestured for her to follow him. Slightly curious, Silena followed them down, passing her dad's cabin. The door was open showing her mom sitting next to Jason, who was _still_ unconscious, holding his hand while he snored with an ice pack on his head.

Silena waved when Piper looked up while the three of them passed her. She gave Silena a soft smile in return before putting a finger to her lips, telling them to be quiet. They continued on to the mess hall, finding the others- Zack, Emily, Percy, Annabeth, and Frank. The Terrors were taking turns telling some story from their childhoods while the parents listened intently, smiling whenever they said something stupid they did as little kids.

She walked in and ruffled Zack's hair. "Are you brats telling them all our secrets?"

They instantly smirked and, in unison, said "Of course."

Percy shook his head and muttered to himself about how creepy the two of them were. Zack and Emily turned and flashed him innocent smiles, Percy just gave them a suspicious look that Silena knew the two of them delighted in.

Deciding to let him off the hook lest the Terrors completely freak him out, Silena asked "So, we've landed. What now?"

Frank answered. "Figure out the prophecy? I mean… that _was_ a prophecy Ella spoke, right? From the Sibylline books?"

Leo blinked in confusion "The what?" Frank quickly explained about Ella and her impeccable memory for books.

"That's why you didn't tell the Romans," Leo guessed, frowning at the conclusion he had come to. "You didn't want them to get ahold of her."

Percy stared longingly at the image of Camp Half-Blood on the wall. "Ella's sensitive. She was a captive when we found her. I just didn't want…" He clenched his hands. "it doesn't matter now. I sent Tyson an Iris-message, told him to take Ella to Camp Half-Blood. They'll be safe there."

Leo looked doubtful but kept silent. Annabeth laced her fingers and looked at the Terrors and Silena with a serious expression. "Can you tell us anything about the prophecy?" They glanced at each other and shook their heads.

She sighed in disappointment but nodded in understanding. "Alright, then I'll think on the prophecy, but right now we have more immediate problems. We have to get this ship fixed. Leo, what do we need?"

He answered instantly. "The easiest thing is tar. We can get that in the city, at a roofing-supply store or someplace like that. Also, Celestial bronze and lime. According to Festus, we can find both of those on an island in the lake, just west of here."

"We'll have to hurry," Hazel warned grimly. "If I know Octavian, he's already spun the story to blame us and is searching for us with his auguries. The Romans will send a strike force after us. It's a matter of honor."

"If they do find us we'll be ready for them." A voice said from the door. Silena turned around and saw Charlie standing there, leaning against the door frame, a clean shirt on and looking refreshed from his catnap.

Percy scowled. " _You_ are supposed to be sleeping!"

Charlie shrugged nonchalantly. "I got thirty minutes, I'm good."

Zack, Emily and Silena stared in surprise. It was after all nearly impossible for Charlie to sleep more than ten minutes during the day and six hours during the night. If he slept for thirty minutes than he was more hurt than he had let on.

Annabeth shook her head. "That is not enough sleep for the injury you had, Charles Lucas Jackson!"

Charlie gave her a look for the use of his full name and pulled his T-Shirt down, showing off his previously injured shoulder. The wound had healed to a small scar running from the top of his shoulder down to his collarbone.

"See," He gestured at it. "It's fine. Now, can we talk about who's getting what materials we need? Please?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Annabeth studied him and nodded albeit slightly annoyed. He let out a breath and motioned at Leo to continue, walking to the table and sitting down next to Zack.

He hesitated for a second before speaking. "I was thinking we could use the buddy system. Nobody goes anywhere alone. We can leave Piper, Coach Hedge and the Kids on board to guard the ship and Jason while he's out. Send one team out to get tar. Another team can go after the bronze and the lime."

Percy looked worried. "Split up? That sounds like a really bad idea."

Charlie and Silena shared a look, instantly deciding that Leo's idea was a good one and she spoke up. "It'll be quicker this way. Besides there's a reason a quest is usually limited to three demigods, right?"

Annabeth nodded at her logic. "You're right. The same reason we needed the Argo ll… outside camp, seven demigods in one place will attract way too much monstrous attention. The ship is designed to conceal and protect us. We should be safe enough on board; but if we go on expeditions, we shouldn't travel in groups larger than three. No sense alerting more of Gaea's minion's than we have to."

Percy still didn't look happy about it but conceded to their point. "As long as you're my buddy, I'm good." He told Aunt Annabeth.

Charlie snorted quietly at his statement causing Percy to shake his fist at him in a mock threat. Charlie just stuck out his tongue at him, Zack snickering next to him.

Hazel smiled "Oh, that's easy. Frank, you were amazing, turning into a dragon! Could you do it again to fly Annabeth and Percy into town for tar?"

Frank looked conflicted. "I... I suppose. But what about you?"

"I'll ride Arion with Sa- with Leo, here." She quickly corrected herself making Charlie and Silena exchange another look, this time planning on how to keep Frank and Leo away from each other when necessary. "We'll get the bronze and the lime. We can all meet back here by dark."

Frank did not look happy with that plan but before he could say something Emily pinched his arm _hard_ and gave him a warning look. He kept his mouth shut thankfully.

"Leo," Annabeth kept the conversation moving. "if we get the supplies, how long to fix the ship?"

Leo tilted his head thoughtfully and said. "With luck, just a few hours."

She nodded and made the decision. "Fine, we'll meet you back here as soon as possible, but stay safe. We could use some good luck. That doesn't mean we'll get it."

Everybody nodded in agreement and started to disperse. Frank, Percy and Annabeth all got up and left the room to go do their task. Charlie looked like he was thinking hard before he dashed to the door, whistled loudly and waited a few seconds. Footsteps rushed downstairs and Lily appeared through the doorway looking expectantly at Charlie.

"Can you go with Aunt Hazel and your dad? I figure two firecrackers are better than one." He grinned at her. Lily huffed at him but agreed.

Charlie clapped his hands together. "Awesome, then you three can go and the rest of us will guard the ship. Where's Ethan?"

Lily pointed upwards. "He's on watch."

"Good, can you send him down here while you leave?" He asked while he ushered them out. Lily gave a thumbs up and followed the parents upstairs.

He slouched in a chair next Zack and lifted a hand to rest on the younger boy's head. Zack gave him a vaguely annoyed look but let him continue to rest his hand there.

Emily piped up next as Ethan came into the room. "So, what now?"

"Now, we make a schedule for keeping watch. Who's getting first watch?" He asked, looking between the four of them.

Ethan raised his hand. "I'm cool with first shift."

Silena raised hers next. "I'll take second."

Charlie nodded. "I'll take third and if we need a fourth we'll put you Terrors on it at the same time." he looked at the aforementioned Terrors who nodded in agreement.

"Alright, then let's go." He said cheerfully. They all climbed to their feet and walked out, all thinking the same thing.

Things just got real interesting. The worrying part was that none of them knew if it was good or bad.

At least they were together, right?

 **Yay! Chapter Twelve is done! Hope you guys enjoyed! Also, I'm kind of curious if you guys would be interested if I made a deleted scenes thing that shows you missing moments and such? Like Ethan's talk with Reyna and Percy's reaction when he actually gets told about Charlie for the first time? Let me know in the reviews!**

 **Anyway! I wonder what will happen while the two teams are gone? And how will Lily change the mission to get the Celestial bronze and lime? And how will Nemesis react to Lily?**

 **Find out next time on Fated to Save! Comic Out!**

RosettaQueen20- _I think you know the plan too, and yes Percabeth and Jiper will be absolutely_ furious _when they realize what their kids do. I'm glad you like my OC's! I tried to make them as human as possible so yay! And I have_ plans _for Reyna that you'll find out later. And this fanfiction may seem full of fun and games now but there is a lot of angst and family drama to come as well as a ton of Hurt and Comfort, just you wait._

Didi (Guest)- _Wow I can't believe I made you faint! *fans face* And I'm glad you liked what I did with the Octopus as you put it, funny name btw. I couldn't figure out how else to do it since the Kids had their parents on lock down. Octopus, killer of stuffed animals is a liar who lies, so its going to a while before the Romans figure it out. Thank you my dude/dudette!_


	13. Seeing My Worst Enemy's Face Again

**Hello, welcome to chapter thirteen! In this chapter things get a bit dark and you start to see a little more of how bad the future really is and why the Kids are so damn protective of each other. Enjoy!**

 **(Lily POV {Surprise!})**

Riding on Arion's back with Hazel and her dad could only be described as awkward. Hazel was sat in front with Lily sat behind her and Leo behind her. Neither of them talked until they got to the island though, which was a bit disconcerting. Lily knew why Leo wasn't saying anything, Percy had pulled him aside for a quick sidebar explaining Hazel's past and giving a mild threat, Lily assumed from Leo's expression when it ended.

Thankfully, Arion pounded onto the beach and came to a stop, stopping his hooves and whinnying triumphantly.

They dismounted and Arion pawed at the sand.

Hazel took one look at him and said "He needs to eat. He likes gold but- "

"Gold?" Leo interrupted, staring at the horse like he was trying to figure out what made him tick.

Hazel pursed her lips together at the interruption but answered. "He'll settle for grass. Go on, Arion. Thanks for the ride. I'll call you when we need a ride back."

And just like that Arion was gone with the wind. Leo stared after the horse and dryly said "Fast horse, and expensive to feed."

Hazel shrugged "Not really, gold is easy for me."

Leo raised his eyebrows. "How is gold easy? Please tell me you're not related to King Midas. I don't like that guy."

Hazel looked like she very much regretted this conversation. "Never mind." Leo looked curious but mercifully dropped the subject.

Deciding to change the subject all together, Lily crouched and cupped a handful of sand. "Well, the good news is that this is lime."

Hazel frowned while her dad knelt down next to her. "The whole beach?"

"Yeah. See? The granules are perfectly round. It's not really sand. It's calcium carbonate." He answered for her, pulling out a fairly large Ziploc bag from his tool belt and the two of them began filling it.

Hazel knelt next to us and helped. "We should've brought a pail and shovels."

The idea made Leo smile. "We could've made a sand castle."

"A lime castle."

They stared at each other for a few seconds to long. Thinking quickly, she decided to just punch her dad's arm. Hard. He immediately jerked back and held it, whipping around to look at her.

"OW!" He hollered, waving at the area she had hit. Lily just shrugged and informed him that he was taking too long.

He grumbled and half-heartedly threatened to ground her as he quickly finished filling the bag. Hazel gave her a relived look and Lily winked at her. After all, this is the real reason Charlie had her come with.

Leo stuffed the bag in his tool belt and stood up before turning and helping the two ladies to their feet.

Leo looked around, scanning the area. "Festus said there was Celestial bronze close by, but I'm not sure where- "

"That way." Hazel pointed up the beach. "About five hundred yards."

Leo gave her a blank stare. "How do you-?"

"Precious metals." she said with a shrug. "It's a Pluto thing."

The two Valdez's shared a look as Leo said "Handy talent. Lead the way, Miss Metal Detector."

 _OoOoOoOoOo_

The sun was setting and turned into a rather interesting mix of purple and yellow. We had been walking for about ten minutes when Aunt Hazel finally turned inland.

Dad had a worried look on his face. "You sure this is a good idea?"

"We're close," she promised. "Come on."

Walking over the dunes, I saw a woman sitting on a boulder in the middle of a grassy field. A black and chrome motorcycle was parked nearby, but each wheel had a big pie slice removed from the spokes and rim, like a Pac-Man. I was saddened by this since it made the bike undrivable and it seemed like a sin to not drive it.

The woman herself had curly black hair and a bone thin frame. She wore black leather pants, tall leather boots and a blood red leather jacket.

Observing her appearance and the fortune cookies scattered around her feet, Lily instantly knew who she was. Nemesis, the goddess of revenge.

' _Ah Hell, this is going to suck._ ' Was her only thought as they walked over to her.

"What are you doing?" her dad asked as they came to a stop in front of the goddess. She looked up and Lily grimaced as she saw what form she took for her.

Payton Lewis had been the seventh member of the little group her and her cousins made. She had been a sweet, lovable and fierce legacy that Emily had introduced to everyone when Lily was five, her godly grandparents being Hermes on the maternal side and Apollo on the paternal, and the two had become instant best friends despite the fact that the only one older than her had been Charlie.

They had all hung out together and became a family, until Lily was twelve and Payton's personality _flipped_ completely. She did a complete one eighty and went from being herself to a literal demon. She spread lies about them, tried to pit Lily and her family against each other and generally wreaked havoc on all of their relationships. They cut her out of their lives completely and refused to even talk _about_ her.

Then one day three months before they left for the past, Silena got attacked in the middle of the night. The only reason she didn't die that night was because Ethan had been out on one of his nightly walks and saw someone come out of her house with a knife in their hands covered in blood.

He had immediately rushed into the house, sprinting to Silena's room and started screaming for a medic. The morning after when Silena was patched up and stable, the entire family went on a witch hunt looking for the person who would dare attack one of their family members.

They found out by midday that it had been Payton and that she had ditched camp after attacking Silena. It had turned out that during the second Titan war her parents had been on the losing side but hadn't been caught. They convinced her to try to kill one of them, hoping to demoralize everyone before the trip to the past. Everyone agreed she would either die out there or when the future changed everyone would keep an eye on her in the changed future.

After all was said and done, Lily and the rest of her cousins had scattered around Silena's infirmary room and stayed there for two days until Silena could be moved back to the house. They had all promised each other that night that they would never let anyone or anything hurt one another again if they could help it, and if no one could stop them from hurting any of the family then everyone would help put that person _down_ in any way they could.

Ethan always said that sprinting in that room and seeing Silena covered in blood was the single scariest moment of his life. Everyone agreed with him.

So, having Nemesis look at her with that face had Lily scrambling to control her powers as she felt that burning rage enter her again. Registering the smoke drifting around her body, Lily quickly turned away from the imposter Payton and focused on her breathing, hoping to calm down before she set someone or something on fire.

Lily could feel her dad looking at her in concern. "Lils, are you okay?" she gave a short nod and continued with her breathing.

"What did you do to my daughter?" Lily heard her dad growl in a protective tone. Feeling slightly calmer, she turned back around and avoided looking at her face as the goddess answered.

"I didn't do anything to her. But the face she sees apparently did." She informed him, glancing at Lily with interest in her eyes. "Well child, what do you see?"

"Someone I wouldn't mind pushing off a cliff." Lily muttered, still avoiding her stare. She hummed in interest but backed off.

She glanced at her father and he gave her a look that clearly said they would be talking about this later.

Leo cleared his throat and asked. "Why do you look like Aunt Rosa?"

"Is that what you see?" The goddess asked, turning her head curiously. "Interesting. And you, Hazel, dear?"

Hazel flashed Lily a worried look as she answered "You look like Mrs. Leer. My third-grade teacher. I hated her."

The deity cackled. "Excellent. You resented her, eh? She judged you unfairly?"

"She taped my hands to the desk for misbehaving," She said, a touch of anger in her voice. "She called my mother a witch. She blamed me for everything I didn't do and- No. She _has_ to be dead. Who _are_ you?"

"Oh, the child knows, don't you?" She said, looking at Lily with a darkly amused glint in her eyes. Lily finally picked her head and glared.

"Nemesis, the goddess of revenge." Lily said through clenched teeth. She gave a proud smile like she was impressed with the fact Lily actually glared at her.

"You see?" Nemesis said to Hazel, still smiling. "She recognizes me."

The goddess cracked open another cookie and wrinkled her nose. " _You will have great fortune when you least expect it,"_ She read. "That's exactly the sort of nonsense I hate. Someone opens a cookie, and suddenly they have a prophecy that they'll be rich! I blame that tramp Tyche. Always dispensing good luck to people who don't deserve it!"

The three of them shared uncertain looks and her dad said "Uh… you know those aren't real prophecies, right? They're just stuffed in those cookies at some factory- "

"Don't try to excuse it!" Nemesis snapped. "It's just like Tyche to get people's hopes up. No, no. I _must_ counter her." She changed the fortune and read it to us. " _You will die a painfully when you most expect it._ There! Much better."

"That's horrible!" Hazel cried, distressed. "You'd let someone read that in their fortune cookie, and it would come true?"

Nemesis sneered and Lily wasn't at all surprised at how natural it looked on Payton's face. "My dear Hazel, haven't you ever wished horrible things on Mrs. Leer for the way she treated you?"

"That doesn't mean I'd want them to happen to come true!"

"Bah." The goddess grumbled, resealing the cookie and tossing it back in the basket. "Tyche would be Fortuna for you, I suppose, being Roman. Like the others, she's in a horrible way right now. Me? I'm not affected. I am Nemesis in both Greek and Roman. I do not change, because revenge is universal."

"What are you talking about?" Leocasked, confused. "What are you doing here?"

Nemesis opened another cookie. "Lucky numbers. Ridiculous! That's not even a proper fortune!" She crushed the cookie in her hand and dropped the pieces at her feet.

"To answer your question, Leo Valdez, the gods are in terrible shape. It always happens when a civil war is brewing between you Romans and Greeks. The Olympians are torn between their two natures, called on by both sides. They become quite schizophrenic, I'm afraid. Splitting headaches. Disorientation."

"But we're not at war!" Leo insisted.

"Um, Leo…" Hazel winced, obviously not wanting to say whatever she was about to say. "Except for the fact that Octavian blew up large sections of New Rome and blamed it on the Greeks."

Leo stared at her, wounded. "That's not our fault! Those three idiots got possessed!"

"I know…" She continued to wince. "but the Romans don't know that. And they'll be pursuing us in retaliation."

Nemesis cackled once again sending chills down Lily's spine at the sound. "Leo, listen to the girl. War is coming. Gaea has seen to it, with your help. And can you guess whom the gods blame for their predicament?"

Leo and Hazel shared confused looks before Leo answered. "Octavian?"

The goddess snorted in a rather ungodly like way. "No, of course not. You're all just pieces on a chessboard, Leo Valdez. I was referring to the player who set this ridiculous quest in motion, bringing the Greeks and Romans together. The gods blame Hera or- Juno if you prefer! The queen of the heavens has fled Olympus to escape the wrath of her family. Don't expect any more help from your patron."

Leo looked like he had a headache. "So why are you here?"

"Why, to offer _my_ help!" Nemesis gave a slightly terrifying smile.

Lily glanced at Hazel. She looked distinctly unhappy with her offer.

Leo looked skeptical. "Your help."

"Of course!" the goddess chirped creepily. "I enjoy tearing down the proud and powerful, and there is none who deserve tearing down like Gaea and her giants. Still, I must warn you that will not suffer undeserved success. Good luck is a sham. The wheel of fortune is a Ponzi scheme. True success requires sacrifice."

Hazel looked furious all of sudden at those words. "Sacrifice?" She asked rhetorically, voice tight. "I lost my mother. I died and came back. Now my brother is missing. Isn't that enough sacrifice for you?"

Leo looked like he agreed with every word. "Right now, all I want is some Celestial Bronze."

"Oh, that's easy," Nemesis replied, looking put out that they hadn't asked for anything more. "It's over the rise. You'll find it with the sweethearts."

"Wait." Hazel looked hopelessly confused. "What sweethearts?"

Nemesis casually ate a fortune cookie whole, fortune and all. "You'll see. Perhaps they will teach you a lesson, Hazel Levesque. Most heroes cannot escape their nature, even when given a second chance at life. And speaking of your brother Nico, you don't have much time. Let's see… it's June twenty-fifth? Yes, after today, six more days. Then he dies, along with the entire city of Rome."

Hazel's eyes widened as she sucked in a shocked breath. "How… what-?"

"And as for _you_ , child of fire, your worst hardships have yet to come." She informed Lily's father. "You will always be the outsider, the seventh wheel. You will not find a place among your brethren. Soon you will face a problem you cannot solve, though I could help you… for a price."

Leo's hand caught on fire for a few quick seconds before he stuffed his hand into his pocket to extinguish it. Hazel stared at him in horror.

Leo cleared his throat. "I like to solve my own problems."

"Very well." She shrugged, brushing cookie dust off herself.

"But, um, what sort of price are we talking about?"

She shrugged again. "One of my children recently traded an eye for the ability to make a real difference in the world."

Leo looked horrified and disgusted. "You… want an eye?"

"In your case, perhaps another sacrifice would do. But something just as painful. Here." She tossed a cookie at him. "If you need an answer, break this. It will solve your problem."

Leo stared down at the cookie in his hand as if it were a live bomb. "What problem?"

"You'll know when the time comes."

"No, thanks."

The goddess turned to her next. "And you child, for the changes you make for the good of the world, you and your cousins will sacrifice something you might not be able to live without."

A cold feeling spread through Lily's body at her words. "What," she demanded. "What do we sacrifice?"

Nemesis tsked at her, wagging her finger. "Sorry, child, but you can't know that. Not right now."

Before Lily could ask another question, she cracked another cookie open and read the fortune but Lily tuned her out, thinking hard.

What sacrifice would they make? What couldn't they live without? These thoughts circled around in her head until she forced herself to stop.

She was going to have to call a family meeting for this one.

 **Well, well, well I wonder what the sacrifice is? Sadly, you guys aren't going to find out until MUCH later so I guess you'll have to wait. Also, how do you guys feel about the addition of the Payton Lewis character? And how do you think her story will affect the Parents when they get told?**

 **Find out next time on Fated to Save! Comic out!**

RosettaQueen20- _Oh my gosh, I love you! You're like the super star of the reviewers! Seeing the response, I think I will do the deleted scene story. I don't want to do flashbacks because I think they take away from the story and halt progress. And you calling my OC's a masterpiece almost killed me I swear. Everybody bashes OC's, myself included, because they're never really seem human and seeing you call them a masterpiece just makes warm feeling crop up inside me._

Didi (Guest)- _Awesome! I think I am going for the deleted scenes story so watch out for that! Thank you for sharing the inside joke with me! It made me cackle when I read it the first time._

Lazy to login- _I will make that happen for you! Though the Romans won't figure out it was Octavian for quite a while. Reyna has her suspicions in this moment of time but is withholding judgment for the time being. That will change soon, promise._


	14. A Dark Subject is Talked About

**Chapter Fourteen has arrived! In this chapter we see Percy and Charlie working together, the Parents being told the full story of Payton Lewis and the Kids worrying over what Nemesis told Lily. Enjoy! See you at the bottom of the chapter!**

 **(Charlie POV)**

Leaning against the railing as he scanned the area, Charlie was trying his hardest to ignore the bad feeling in his gut. It was he always got when one of his cousins was on a quest without me.

He stopped telling people about it after a while since everyone always said it was his _motherhen tendencies_ kicking in. Charlie couldn't blame them though since he was admittedly the most overprotective person he knew.

Thankfully Lily was with Leo and Hazel so she would be fine. Charlie just always liked having his cousins in where he could see him or at least in the same building as him.

Sighing, he rolled his shoulders and winced at the dull pain in his left shoulder. Despite what he had told his family, it wasn't as good as he said it was. It was fully closed and scarred over but the muscles in his shoulder weren't as lucky.

Charlie knew he was lucky though, if anybody else had got this injury they would still be bedridden. The only reason he was up was because of the after effects of his father's swim in the river Styx, no one knew the exact science but Charlie got some advanced healing, extra speed and strength and an extremely high pain tolerance, way more than the average half-blood.

They didn't figure it out until Charlie was four though; he had climbed a tree and proceeded to fall out of it, resulting in a broken arm. He hadn't cried or screamed though and gave Will a heart attack when he came in and calmly told him that he had fallen, holding his broken arm.

After that the Apollo cabin put him through various tests. Eventually they deduced that it was the fault of the Achilles curse Percy had at one point. His parents had been happy he was better protected while he only took it as incentive to train harder and longer.

Abruptly pulling himself from his head, Charlie whipped around to look at the island behind him and saw Arion racing towards the ship.

He turned just as Arion trotted on to the ship. The three of them dismounted and Charlie couldn't help but stare at Leo. He had welding goggles on his head, slicked back hair, drawn on tattoos all over his arms, lipstick mark on his cheek and a T-Shirt that said Hot Stuff, Bad Boy, and Team Leo on it.

"Um, Uncle Leo? What the hell is… that?" Charlie asked as he gestured to his entire costume.

"Long story, I'm sure Lily will tell you later." He said as he dragged a large sheet of Celestial bronze of the horse's back. Charlie stepped over and helped carry it downstairs, passing Ethan and Zack on the way, both of them staring at Leo like he had grown an extra head.

They passed Jason's room and stopped in the doorway seeing that he was awake talking with Piper and Silena. The three of them stared at Leo like he had and Piper spoke up first.

"Gods of Olympus." She said in surprise. "What happened to you?"

"Long story," He said once again. "Others back?"

"Not yet."

Leo cursed and noticed Jason was awake and lit up. "Hey, man! Glad you're better. I'll be in the engine room." And promptly took off with the bronze and Lily, disappearing down the hallway.

Piper turned to Hazel and raised an eyebrow at her " _Team Leo?_ "

"We met Narcissus," Hazel said as if that explained everything. "Also Nemesis, the goddess of revenge."

Jason sighed, depressed. "I miss all the fun."

"How does that explain-" Charlie began to ask only to be cut off by a loud thud above us and his parents came running down the hall. Percy was carrying a big plastic bucket filled with some kind of steaming black substance that smelled terrible. Annabeth had it in her hair and Percy's shirt was covered in it.

"Roofing tar?" Piper dryly asked as Frank stumbled up behind them with a big smear of it down his face.

"Ran into some tar monsters," Annabeth said, lightly panting from exertion. "Hey, Jason, glad you're awake. Hazel, where's Leo?"

She pointed. "Engine room with Lily."

The entire ship listed to port. Everybody stumbled and Percy scrambled to keep his tar bucket from spilling everywhere.

"Uh, what was that?" he demanded.

"Oh…" Hazel looked incredibly embarrassed. "We may have angered the nymphs who live in this lake. Like… _all_ of them."

"You're kidding. Please tell me you're kidding." Charlie said hopefully, not wanting to deal with a lake full of pissed off nymphs. He saw her expression and hung his head in despair. "You're not kidding."

"Great." Percy said, handing Frank the tar bucket. "You guys help Leo. Charlie and I'll go hold off the water spirts for as long as we can."

"On it!" Frank promised.

Annabeth and Frank ran to the engine room whilst Dad and I ran back upstairs. Sprinting across the deck he realized just how many nymphs those three had managed to piss off. Several dozen water spirits were fifty feet away and closing in, shoving waves of water at their ship.

Charlie glanced at his dad. "What's the play?"

He furrowed his brow and thought. "You start shoving back and I'll try talking to them."

Charlie gave a nod. "Got it, and if that doesn't work?"

Percy gave him a smile. "Then we better hope the others get the ship working soon."

Charlie threw him a thumbs up and started forcing the waves back at the nymphs, careful that he didn't hurt them.

Percy cleared his throat. "Excuse me ladies but can you please _not_ destroy our ship?"

One nymph screamed back. "Those demigods stole Narcissus reflection! We're getting it back!"

Percy and Charlie shared a glance as they both wondered how one could steal another's reflection. "Um, I'm sure they had a good reason for it."

"What good reason is there for stealing Narcissus reflection! He'll leave if we don't get it back! So, GIVE IT BACK!" Another nymph yelled hysterically at the two of them, wearing an 'I heart Narcissus' T-Shirt.

Charlie sighed. "Dad? I don't think this is going to end peacefully."

Percy nodded in resignation but before he could say anything Coach Hedge appeared.

"INVADERS!" He yelled waving his baseball bat around almost smacking Charlie in the face. "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

Charlie scowled, not wanting to deal with the shoot first ask questions later 'chaperone' of ours. "Coach shut up. Dad and I are dealing with it. Go back to your MMA championships."

"Quiet cupcake! I got this!" Hedge yelled.

"Hedge! We have this! Go. Back. Down." He snapped. Coach Hedge was only going to complicate this thing.

Hedge scowled at me and went to speak but Percy mercifully cut him off.

"Do what he says Coach. We have this." Percy said firmly, putting out his hands and helping Charlie push the nymphs farther back.

Before the argument could continue the ship sputtered into gear and lifted into the air. The rocking stopped and everything became quiet.

Charlie huffed before turning back to the coach. "Told you we had it."

He harrumphed and stalked downstairs.

Leo came up next with a raised eyebrow at Coach Hedge and how angry he was. "Meeting in the mess hall, one hour." He said shortly and pointed down. "I'm going to take a shower."

Charlie looked at him and registered the sweat, lime dust and tar that covered him and how his clothes were ripped to shreds.

"Yeah, you go do that."He said, amused.

He gave Charlie a look and disappeared back downstairs. He turned back to Percy and looked at him, taking in the orange Camp Half-Blood shirt and jeans he had on.

It was slightly disturbing to Charlie how alike the pair looked sometimes. People always said that if he dyed his hair jet black, he could be his dad's younger self and looking at him now Charlie had to agree. They had the same green eyes and tan skin; the same build and Charlie was maybe an inch shorter than him.

He was dragged out of his thinking when Percy lifted his hand and ruffled his son's hair.

"How are you feeling?" He said with a warm look in his eyes.

Charlie gave a content half smile. "Pretty good surprisingly."

He nodded and said. "Well then, lets go annoy your mother, shall we?" with a mischievous look.

Charlie grinned and nodded. The two of them jogged down stairs, Charlie thinking to himself ' _I could get used to this.'_

 _OoOoOoOo_

Settled in a chair with Zack to his left and Lily to his right, Charlie patiently waited for the meeting to start. As he glanced around the room he realized it was the first time in a long while it had just been the thirteen of them. The only people missing from the family table were Nico, Will, Reyna and Calypso. Hopefully we would all be together soon.

Leo was next to his daughter, the two of them fiddling with something together. Piper was next to him with Silena and Jason next her. Annabeth was next to him at the end of the table with Percy beside her. Uncle Frank next him and Emily and her mom next him. Ethan sat opposite of my mom with Zack on his right and Aunt Hazel on his left.

It had gotten a little tense when his dad and Jason tried to sit at the head of the table at the same time causing sparks to fly from Jason's hands and the water in people's cups to move. Piper and Annabeth both thankfully stopped the incoming fight by smacking their respective boyfriends on the back of the head and his mother sat in the chair before either of them could make another move for it.

Charlie and Silena just traded looks and rolled their eyes at them.

Leo finished his story about Narcissus and glanced at the Kids thoughtfully. Charlie raised his eyebrow at him, curious to what he had to say next.

"So, Lily, it's later. You mind telling the class about who you saw Nemesis as?" He casually asked, eyeing her in interest.

Lily froze looking like a deer in the headlights. "Uhhhhhh, I plead the fifth?"

Leo gave his daughter a look. "Nope, you said you wouldn't mind pushing them off a cliff, _carino._ Speak." He settled back in his chair and crossed his arms, waiting for his daughter to speak.

Charlie had to admit he was slightly curious himself, who did Lily loath enough to push off a cliff? The moment she spoke he regretted it instantly.

"Payton Lewis." She admitted, eyes narrowed and smoke rising from her hands.

Immediately a wave of anger rolled through him. Water from everybody's cups rocked and sloshed around in time with his heartbeat. Charlie had never wanted to kill anybody as much as he wanted to kill Payton Lewis. That bitch seriously injured a member of his family, _his_ best friend. The only mercy he would show her would be if he killed her quick.

Getting a hold of himself again he glanced at the rest of his cousins. Silena had sparks flying off her while the smell ozone began to fill the room, Ethan was growling and clenching his fists, Zack had shadows surrounding him and was fondling the hilt of his sword, Emily was coated in potent magical energy with her eyes glowing a slight gold.

The Parents looked startled as their children's powers reacted to the well of emotions inside of them.

Hazel and Frank put their arms around Emily and soothingly whispered to her, calming her down. Charlie's parents shot out of their seats toward him, Ethan had managed to wrangle in his emotions enough to lay a hand on Zack's shoulder and quietly started talking him into a calmer state of mind. Lily had her head buried in her arms on the table and was taking deep breaths while her dad ran his hand through her hair comfortingly. Silena was staring hard at a spot on the wall while her parents hugged her.

Charlie felt hands land on his shoulders and upper back and heard his mother quietly murmuring soothing words in his ear with Percy running his hand up and down Charlie's spine.

Charlie took a deep breath and shoved his emotions back into their box, sitting up straight and waiting for everyone to calm down again.

A few minutes passed before all of the Kids were calmed down and managed to gain control over our powers again. Everybody slowly moved back to their seats and waited for someone to explain.

Rolling his shoulders back, Charlie spoke up. "Payton Lewis was one of our best friends in the world. We met her just after I turned six. It was a year before Camp Jupiter was destroyed and everybody was living their lives happy and content. Emily had met her at the Roman camp and introduced her to us and we all became instant friends with her, Lily even considered her a best friend. She and Ethan dated as well for a little bit."

He looked at the Parents and saw they were enraptured in the story while his cousins just looked angry and hurt.

"Around the time I was thirteen, a month after we were told we would be going to the past she started acting strange. Blowing off dates with Ethan and snapping at all of us, just generally being a hard person to be near. Then rumors started going around camp, about Ethan abusing Payton and how the rest of us egged him on. That secretly we were conspiring with the Titans to destroy camp, and that we were going to ensure that Gaea won instead of fixing Tartarus like we said we would."

"Thankfully not a lot of people believed her but some did. One even came up to Dad and had the balls to say that I was evil incarnate. We eventually deduced that it was Payton and never talked to her or about her again."

Charlie grimaced at what he was about to say, knowing it was going to push the Parents over the edge, especially Jason and Piper.

"Then three months before we left for here, Silena was attacked in the middle of the night. Some broke into the Grace's house and into her room, put up a silencing ward and started slashing and cutting her. Before they left the house the stabbed her in the stomach twice and left her to bleed out."

The tension in the room skyrocketed and ozone once again filled the room as Jason had mini lightning surround him in response to his anger. Normally Piper would calm him down but she was too busy staring at their daughter in horror.

He let out a shaky breath and continued. "Thankfully Ethan has the habit of taking nighttime walks because he saw a someone come out of your house with a bloodied knife in their hands and sprinted into the house after the person walked away."

"He managed to take down the silencing ward and screamed for a medic. They got there in time and managed to stabilize her. We scoured the camp and found a notebook in Payton's writing. It explained how it was Payton who attacked Silena and why she did it. You see her parents were on the Titan's side of the war during the Second Titan War but managed to keep it from everybody. So when they had Payton they raised her to be a solider for their cause and set us up. She was set to betray us from the moment we met her. Her reasoning for attacking Silena was that she was hoping to demoralize us. She left camp right after hurting Silena and we never saw her or heard from her again." He finished solemnly.

By this point in time Piper and Jason had themselves wrapped around their daughter again and trading murderous looks while the rest of the 'adults' looked completely horrified at the story.

"Oh, my sweet boy." Annabeth breathed as she stood and walked toward Charlie again, pulling him into a hug. Percy followed after her and joined in, dragging Zack in as well when he registered his expression.

Hazel grabbed Ethan and Emily into a hug as well while Frank stood behind them, resting his hands on their shoulders in comfort. Leo had Lily in a bear hug and was murmuring in Spanish in her ear.

Everyone stayed in their respective dog piles for a long time; just soaking in the comfort they were being provided. Eventually everyone returned to their seats, a few with red rimmed eyes.

Leo cleared his throat and hoarsely asked "So where to now?" changing the subject so that everyone could calm down.

Percy picked at his completely blue pie depressively. "We need to put some distance between us and Camp Jupiter, Frank spotted some eagles over Salt Lake City. We figure the Romans aren't far behind us."

The mood around the table didn't improve in the slightest. Piper looked the littlest bit guilty about something. Charlie glanced at Silena and saw she was giving her mother a questioning look as well.

"I don't suppose we should go back and try to reason with the Romans? Maybe… maybe I didn't try hard enough with the charmspeak." She said reluctantly.

Jason took her hand and squeezed it. "It wasn't your fault, Pipes. Whatever happened, it was Gaea's doing, to drive the two camps apart."

She bit her lip but continued. "Maybe if we could explain that, though- "

"With no proof?" his mother interrupted. "The only people who know what's going on are the Kids and they can't tell us for obvious reasons. I appreciate what you're saying, Piper. I don't want the Romans on our bad side, but until we understand what Gaea's up to, going back is suicide."

"She's right," Hazel said still looking nauseous but was snacking on a few saltines to help. Charlie couldn't tell if it was from their story earlier or seasickness.

"Reyna might listen but Octavian will try his best to cut us off and spin the story. The Romans have honor to think about. They've been attacked. They'll shoot first and ask questions later, which is exactly what Octavian will want." Hazel finished.

Piper sighed and nodded. "You're right, we have to keep going. Not just because of the Romans. We have to hurry."

Hazel nodded back. "Nemesis said we have only six days to save until Nico dies and Rome is destroyed."

Jason frowned. "You mean _Rome_ Rome, not New Rome?"

"I think so," She said looking concerned. "But if so, that's not much time."

Percy got a contemplative look on his face "Why six days? And how are they going to destroy Rome?"

No one answered. The Parents didn't because they didn't know and the Kids because they couldn't without seriously messing with the timeline.

Piper cleared her throat. "There's more, I've been seeing things in my knife."

Frank froze with his mouth open, a forkful of spaghetti paused in its journey to his mouth. "Things such as…?"

"They don't really make sense," She said with a shrug. "Just garbled images, but I saw two giants, dressed alike. Maybe twins."

Annabeth stared at the video feed of camp on the wall in thought. "Twins, like in Ella's prophecy. If we could figure out those lines, it might help."

" _Wisdom's daughter walks alone,"_ Percy quoted, slightly irritated. " _The Mark of Athena burns through Rome._ Annabeth, that's got to mean you, Juno told me… well, she said you had a hard task ahead of you in Rome. She said she doubted you could do it. But I know she's wrong."

Annabeth didn't look any less worried at that statement. "Reyna was about to tell me something right before the ship fired on us. She said it might be the reason Greeks and Romans could never get along."

Leo and Hazel shared uneasy looks.

"Nemesis mentioned something similar." Leo said, absentmindedly running his hand up and down Lily's spine at the mention of the goddess. "She talked about an old score that had to be settled."

Hazel took over from there, playing with Emily's hair. "The one thing that might bring the gods' two natures into harmony, an old wrong finally avenged."

His dad drew a frowny face into his blue whipped cream sulkily. "I was only a praetor for about two hours. Jason, you ever hear a legend like that?"

Jason fidgeted slightly. "I… uh, I'm not sure. I'll give it some thought."

Percy narrowed his eyes at the rather horrible lie and deadpanned. "You're not _sure_?"

Jason stayed silent. Charlie looked at Silena and silently told her 'Your dad is a _terrible_ liar.'

She shrugged slightly and gave him a silent look back. 'It's endearing, besides not everyone can bluff their way out of everything like us.'

Charlie pursed his lips and gave her a raised eyebrow 'It's sad is what it is. It physically pains me watching him trying to lie.'

She rolled her eyes and told him to pay attention. He pouted but did as she said, Jason having just asked Frank about killing a giant in Alaska.

"Alcyoneus was a special case," Frank replied. "He was only immortal in the territory he was reborn in, which was Alaska, but not in Canada. I wish I could kill _all_ the giants by dragging then across the border from Alaska into Canada, but Percy's right, we'll need the gods."

"So…" Leo said, pushing his chair from the table. "First things first, I guess. We'll have to put down in the morning to finish repairs."

Sensing the meeting was about to end Charlie stood up and stretched as Annabeth threw out parameters of where we should land. He ignored the questioning look from their parents as his cousins followed him out the door as Charlie led them down to the stables so that they could have their own talk.

Sitting back down, this time leaned against the wall facing the door he waited for them to get comfortable before starting them off.

"Alright firecracker, what did you leave out from the adults?" Charlie asked, having a hunch that she didn't say everything in that meeting.

It was a testament at how well they knew each other that she didn't even try to deny it. "Nemesis told me something at that beach."

He was startled at how grim she looked and his concern shot up. Ethan beat him to the punch by demanding what it was.

She bit her lip and recited what the goddess told her. " _For the changes you make for the good of the world, you and your cousins will sacrifice something you might not be able to live without."_

An icy cold ran through his body, turning his blood to mush as she said it. His thoughts raced through his mind as he thought up and discarded ideas at the speed of light. Charlie kept circling back to the 'something you might not be able to live without' part.

Emily looked terrified. "What if she means our parents?"

Silena, Ethan and he shook their heads instantly, Silena hugging her tightly.

"That wouldn't work Shortstuff. If they died before having us it would negate everything we change." Charlie told her, hoping to calm her and a scared looking Zack down.

It must of worked because their expressions eased away from 'terrified' back to 'nervous'. Zack came over and cuddled into him, making his protective instincts kick in and Charlie wrapped his arm around the thirteen year olds shoulder tightly.

Lily and Ethan were next to each other, Lily with her head on his shoulder and Ethan resting his head on hers.

"Okay then what? Because I don't like the sound of that stupid fortune." Lily spat, looking fierce.

Charlie sighed and exchanged looks with Silena telling her she could answer this one.

"Look guys it might be nothing okay? Let's just calm down and go to sleep. We'll worry about this later." Silena said as she ran her fingers through Emily's hair.

"But Lena," Zack protested. "We need to figure out what it means!"

She gave him a look. "Exactly, which is why we will talk about it. _Later._ "

He pouted but conceded the point, snuggling farther into his chest. Charlie tossed his other arm around him and held him there.

They held a comfortable silence for ten minutes until they heard Coach Hedge start screaming about it being "sleepy time cupcakes!"

They all sighed and started to get up. Zack however held Charlie tighter and refused to move, citing that he was too comfortable to get up.

He stared down at him with an exasperated look for a second before he sighed dramatically and moved him around until Charlie could easily toss him over his shoulder, pleasantly surprised that he didn't have any more pain in it.

Charlie heard and felt him giggle tiredly as he walked toward Leo's cabin to dump him on his bed. The duo passed Percy who took one look at them and started laughing.

Charlie felt Zack lift his head and presumably stick his tongue out since his dad did the same right back at him.

Charlie grumbled about being surrounded by immature children as he walked into the cabin and saw Leo already in there. He gave the two an amused look as Charlie dropped Zack on his feet and ordered him to bed. He gave a sarcastic salute and went about his nighttime routine. Charlie backed out of the room after telling Leo goodnight.

Charlie shuffled into his and Percy's shared cabin and fell into his bed, asleep before his head hit the pillow. He swore, some day's he won't live past thirty with how much stress he had on him.

Well at least his parents had it worst than him, Charlie didn't have kids.

 **Whoop! Another long as hell chapter! Hope you all enjoy seeing as this is the byproduct of three days of writing! Also I published the first chapter of my deleted scenes story! It's called A Helping of Missing Moments, go check it out!**

 **Come back this Tuesday for the next chapter of Fated to Save! Comic out!**

RosettaQueen20- _I'm sweet? Girl, you are one of the reasons I like posting so much! You always have such nice thing to say about my story, anytime I read your reviews I get a warm feeling inside. Angst and general darkness will slowly start to creep in the farther we get into the book._

Did (Guest)- _Yeah it was kind of necessary but it will usually just switch between Charlie and Silena with a few of the other character POV thrown in for good measure. The Kids only abuse their parents out of love ;D. Besides they never hit them hard. Much._

EspeonAuraGirl55- _Thank you! Yeah I completely forgot about her to until I reread MoA for this fic. You guys aren't going to know what Nemesis meant for Lily for a LONG time. Don't worry Emily will set her parents straight soon. I'm so happy to hear that you like the addition of Payton! I didn't know whether you guys would love it or hate it._


	15. Time To Follow The Yellow Brick Road

**Thanks for understanding about the potentially late update guys! Turns out that I'm a workaholic, even while drugged so that's good for you guys, I guess! This chappie is early because technically it's part one of a chapter that I wanted to post on Tuesday! You'll get part two on Tuesday which means you lucky ducks get three chapters this week! Whoo! But anywho getting one of my wisdom teeth taken out sucked** _ **majorly**_ **. But it thankfully went over well and considering I'm not in much pain right now, I'm counting that as a win. Also shameless plug but I have a deleted scenes fic for FTS that you guys should definitely check out! It's called A Helping of Missing Moments, go read it! But anyways here's the chapter! Enjoy!**

 **(Charlie POV)**

Being awake at four am had its perks. The only one up was Ethan who was silently observing the stars next to Charlie. This was normal for the both of them seeing as neither one slept more than five hours at a time. Ethan because of his nightmares and Charlie because he generally didn't need more than that.

Still there was a sort of peace to being up this early, where it seemed as if everything was asleep and for that moment in time everything was fine. It also made him think of subjects he normally wouldn't.

Looking up at the stars made him do so even more, especially when they were up this high and he could see _everything_. Charlie could see the constellation that represented Zoe, a fallen hunter his dad had gotten to know when he rescued Artemis and Annabeth from Atlas, an evil Titan.

Charlie's baby sister was named after her. Zoe Michelle Jackson was his five year old terror of a sister that he had left behind when he went to the past. Originally they were going to bring all of their siblings with but it just wasn't feasible. They couldn't do what they needed to do and still watch over their younger siblings.

So in the end they left them behind with their parents. Zoe was his younger sister but the others had some as well.

Silena had her little brother Louis who was six and followed Charlie around like a puppy most days, Lily had a younger sister, Gabriela who was three and spread chaos and fear everywhere, Ethan had seven month old twin baby brothers Alejandro and Andre, both of whom were adorable, and Zack had a little sister as well, Gemma who was two and an absolute angel. Emily was the single only child among our group.

Charlie tipped his head back and sighed, gaining a questioning look from Ethan that he ignored for the moment. Thinking of their siblings just made him miss home that much more despite all the dangers that came from being in that time.

Plus none of them had told their parents about them yet, mostly because they had no idea how they could tell them that not only did they have one kid but two or three depending on the family.

Charlie sighed once again causing Ethan to roll his eyes and smack his arm, telling Charlie to either tell him the problem or stop with his bullshit sighing. Charlie aimed a pout at him but elaborated.

"I'm just thinking about our siblings." Charlie explained.

He sobered up and gave an understanding nod. "Yeah, I have been too. Mostly about how the hell we're going to tell the Parents."

"Yeah, that's my worry too. I just don't want to tell them and then have 'em freak out, you know?" Charlie said, tired in a way that was caused by stress instead of physical exertion.

Ethan shared Charlie's exact expression as his fingers began to tap restlessly against his thigh. "I say there is a 80 percent chance they take it in stride and a 20 percent chance they flip out." He said somewhat unhelpfully.

Charlie grunted. "Well we're going to have to-"

He was suddenly cut off by a high pitched scream that he recognized as Lily. Ethan and Charlie shared a worried look as they rolled to their feet and sprinted down the stairs at breakneck speeds. The two stopped at Lily and Annabeth's shared cabin and elbowed our way past Annabeth who was worriedly hovering over Lily.

Charlie couldn't help but wince as he sat on the bed and grabbed a hold of Lily who was thrashing and whimpering, terrified by whatever she saw in her dreams.

He pulled her into his chest and began to soothingly run his fingers through her hair, gently trying to wake her up. He distantly heard Ethan drag Annabeth out of the room and begin explaining to her and the other Parents what was going on.

Charlie looked up when he felt the bed dip on Lily's other side and gave a grim look toward Silena. She sent him one back and rubbed the shaking girl in his arms' back. As she did so Charlie felt Lily's breath begin evening out, indicating she was waking up.

He glanced down and saw her blearily blink her eyes at him as she snuggled impossibly deeper into his sternum. Charlie ignored the uncomfortable position she was in and quietly talked to her.

"Hey firecracker, how are you doing?" He asked in a concerned voice, registering and promptly ignoring the door opening. He knew it was the rest of his cousins as the three of them settled themselves around him, Silena and Lily.

Lily frowned and blinked back residual tears left behind from her nightmare. "I'm… not great but I'm not hurt or anything."

Charlie nodded in understanding; after all with the night terrors all of them had they could never be classified as 'great'. "Think you can go back to sleep if one of us stays with you?"

She got a pondering look on her face at his question for a few moments before nodding. "Can Ethan stay with me?"

Charlie pushed down the amusement he felt at her request, she and Ethan had the same kind of bond Emily and Zack had with each other. They were twins that just weren't born together or to the same parents. He would know considering he and Silena had the same one.

Charlie nodded and obediently moved from his spot only for Ethan to take it a half second later. Charlie herded the others out of the room and gave the duo on the bed a final once over before walking out the door, seeing them already settling into a comfortable position to sleep.

He gently shut the door behind him and looked at the Parents, grimacing at the half tried- half worried expressions on their faces and Leo pacing a little. Holding up his hand as Frank opened his mouth to say something Charlie pointed down the hall and ushered them away from the room.

Retreating to the mess hall he immediately started talking, not letting the 'adults' get a word in edgewise. "Yes Lily is fine. No the ship isn't in any danger. Yes all of us kids have nightmares like that. Usually we're pretty quiet about it but we do have bad nights as you've just heard." Charlie took a deep breath, surprised he was able to get that whole spiel out.

The Parents looked marginally less worried and Leo asked "Lily's going to be okay right?" looking protective and slightly chagrined that they hadn't let him in the room.

Silena took over for him. "She's going to be fine; I think talking about Payton today just brought up some bad memories."

Leo nodded his head, finally relaxing his tense frame. Charlie's mother though took on a suspicious look. "You said you all have nightmares like that. What about?"

All four of them winced and Zack spoke up next. "That's not exactly a topic we need to talk about at four in the morning."

Annabeth reluctantly nodded and everyone began to disperse back to their rooms, Percy telling Annabeth she could bunk with the two of them for the remainder of the morning. Charlie ruffled Emily's hair as they shuffled back to their rooms, trailing after the Parents. She grumbled and swatted at his hand, yawning loudly.

"Get some sleep, Shortstack." Charlie told her, concern rising mildly in him when she didn't even complain about the nickname. Still he walked back into his and Percy's room and fell back on his bed, resolving to get at least another half hour of sleep.

As he tumbled back into dreamland, Charlie had one last tired thought. 'Things were going to get interesting from here on out.'

 _LineBreakLineBreakLineBreakLineBreakLineBreakLineBreakLineBreakLineBreak_

Standing at the railing beside his parents, Charlie couldn't help but smile at seeing how happy his mom looked curled slightly into his dad with his arm tossed over her shoulder. There was a returned light in her eyes that Charlie hadn't even realized was missing until it came back. Seeing Percy's happy expression as well Charlie knew he felt the same way.

He saw Piper walk up to us and apparently note Annabeth's glee at Percy being back as well since Charlie saw her hide a small smile.

Annabeth snatched the bagel out of her hands in retaliation and start speaking after taking a bite out of it. "So, here we are. What's the plan?"

"I want to check out that highway," Piper said, getting down to business. "Find the sign that says Topeka 32."

Leo spun his Wii controllers and the sails lowered themselves automatically. "We shouldn't be too far. Festus and I calculated the landing as best as we could. What do you expect to find at the mile marker?"

She proceeded to explain about what her knife showed her and Percy immediately began sulking as Jason spoke up.

"Purple shirt?" He asked thoughtfully. "Vines on his hat? Sounds like Bacchus."

"Dionysus," Percy grumbled, irritated. "If we came all the way to Kansas to see _Mr. D-_ "

Jason cut him off before he could finish his apparent threat. "Bacchus isn't so bad. I don't like his followers much though."

Leo and Piper shuddered in unison at some shared memory they had with Jason. "But the god himself is okay," he continued. "I did him a favor once up in the wine country."

Percy just looked appalled causing Charlie and his cousins to snicker at his dramatics. "Whatever, man. Maybe he's better on the Roman side. But why would he be hanging around Kansas? Didn't Zeus order the gods to cease all contact with mortals?"

Charlie coughed to get his attention. "Dad, you've been dealing with gods for what? Five, Six years now? The gods never follow orders, you know that."

He begrudgingly nodded at Charlie's logic. Leo took over from there. "Sounds dangerous! Well… you guys have fun. I've got to finish repairs on the hull. Coach Hedge is gonna work on the broken crossbows. And, uh, Annabeth, I could really use your help. You're the only other person besides Lily who even _sort of_ understands engineering."

Annabeth looked at Percy apologetically. "He's right. I should stay and help."

He gave her a grin and kissed her cheek sweetly. "I'll come back to you. Promise."

Charlie gave a crooked smile towards them, happy to see that even in twenty years despite wars, life and kids they would still act the same.

Frank took his bow off his shoulder and propped it against the railing. "I think I should turn into a crow or something and fly around, keep an eye out for Roman eagles."

"Why a crow?" Leo asked, genuinely curious. I would have thought he was giving Uncle Frank shit had Lily not told me that she had explained to her father about Sammy, and that he would meet Calypso soon. She didn't mention her by name, just that he would find her on the quest.

"Man, if you can turn into a dragon, why don't you just turn into one every time? That's the coolest." He finished semi excitedly.

Frank unfortunately didn't take the compliment for what it was and turned an unattractive shade of red. "That's like asking why you don't bench-press your maximum weight every time you lift. Because it's hard, and you'd hurt yourself. Turning into a dragon isn't easy."

"Oh." Leo nodded in understanding. "I wouldn't know. I don't lift weights." He offered with a shrug.

"Yeah. Well, maybe you should consider it, Mr. - "

Emily interrupted him with a smack to his head after correctly interpreting the look Charlie shot her. Frank's hand flew to the back of his head as he stared at his daughter in shock. Emily simply crossed her arms and gave him a _look_.

Hazel took over from there, giving him a look as well that told him he was in trouble. He hung his head slightly but accepted the fact that he was in the dog house so to speak with his daughter and girlfriend.

"Come on Frank, I'll help you. I can summon Arion and scout below." She 'suggested' to him in a way that said she was doing it no matter what he said. Percy and Jason gave sympathetic looks but stayed quiet out of fear that then _they'd_ be in trouble with their significant others if they opened their mouths.

"Okay, thanks." He said, accepting his fate. That fate being him getting yelled at later.

Hazel turned to Percy next, causing him to inch behind Annabeth slightly, half joking but half genuinely afraid. Annabeth just huffed a laugh and muttered "Grow a pair, you big baby." To him, resulting in Charlie's laughter as Percy pouted.

Hazel gave them amused looks but continued. "Just be careful when you go out there. Lots of fields, lots of crops, could be _karpoi_ on the loose."

Piper looked confused. " _Karpoi?"_

"Grain spirits," Hazel patently explained. "You don't want to meet them."

Piper still looked confused but appeared to take Hazel's warning seriously.

Percy threw his two cents in finally. "That leaves three of us left to check on the mile marker; Me, Jason Piper. I'm not psyched about seeing Mr. D again. That guy is a pain. But Jason, if you're on better terms with him- "

Jason was already nodding in agreement. "Yeah, if we find him, I'll talk to him. Piper, it's your vision. You should take the lead."

Piper looked decidedly not pleased with that but accepted anyway. "Of course, now let's find a highway."

Charlie shared a quick look with Silena and Ethan and made a spur of the moment decision. "I'll go with you three." He volunteered himself.

Annabeth frowned. "Why? Does something happen?"

Charlie bit his lip before shrugging. "I just want to hang out with Dad." Hoping they would believe it.

Everyone but his parents and Piper did but they thankfully didn't call him out on it, instead just accepting his reasoning.

Charlie cracked his knuckles and psyched himself up for this mini trip, already preparing how he would knock out hid dad and Jason before they could do any damage to each other.

Annabeth and Piper would forgive him for hurting their boyfriends' right? Charlie was their son and nephew respectively so they wouldn't be too mad. He hoped.

 **Here is chapter fifteen! Chapter sixteen will come out tomorrow or the next day since this is just part one of the chapter (depends on when I finish it) and then of course I'll still post on Friday. Apparently getting a wisdom tooth extracted was great at getting over a case of writers block. Who knew? Anyway hope you liked the chapter! And tell me what you guys thought of the additions of the siblings!**

 **See you next time on Fated to Save! Comic out!**

RosettaQueen20- _I'm so glad you liked the Payton Lewis bit! And that really was the moment it sank in how screwed the future was. Ethan and Zack miss their parents but take comfort in the fact that their Aunts, Uncles, and cousins are on board as well. People forget that Zack is only a few months older than Emily. And I added in the nightmare part just for you since you requested it. I never want to leave you guys high and dry which is why I made sure to tell you about the fact that the update might be a smidgen late. Also thanks for understanding! I'm feeling much better now but that might just be the meds talking._

MidgleyMacbeth- _Hello! You're new, welcome to my fanfic! Thank you so much! I'm so happy you enjoy this to the point of sleep deprivation! That's a big complement in my book. I am_ extremely _dedicated to this story, it's my baby._

EspeonAuraGirl55- _Thanks! Charlie and Silena have an idea of what Nemesis meant but that's not coming into play for a LONG time. I'll be sure to put Lily's POV of the Narcissus bit in A Helping of Missing Moments for you. I'm Team Leo all the way too! :D_


	16. We Talk To a Wine Dude About Twins

**This is part two of the chapter I posted yesterday! Go read that one before this one or some things might not make sense!**

 **(Charlie POV)**

Leo needed to work on his definition of 'close' considering he dropped them nearly nine miles from where they were supposed to actually be.

After walking through hotter than hell fields, getting bitten by mosquitoes and slapped by sunflowers, they were all understandable annoyed. Miraculously after walking half a mile they finally reached a road. Sadly it told them they were still eight miles from their destination.

Percy heaved a sigh. "Correct my math but doesn't that sign say we have eight miles to walk?" He asked rhetorically. Everyone knew that was exactly what the sign said; they just didn't want to accept it.

Jason ignored Percy's question. "No cars… but I guess we don't want to hitchhike either." He said, absently swatting at a mosquitoes on his neck.

"No," Piper agreed, glancing at the highway nervously. "We've already spent too much time going overland. The earth is Gaea's territory."

"Hmm…" Jason hummed before snapping his fingers as if he had just solved some complicated mathematical problem. "I can call a friend for a ride."

Percy raised his eyebrows at impromptu challenge. "Oh, yeah? Me too. Let's see whose friend gets here first."

Piper and he shared an eye roll at the way the two of them were busting each other's balls. 'I mean come on, really? We were here to meet a wine god about twin giants; did these two idiots really need to have a measuring contest?' Charlie thought.

The four of them patiently waited for Tempest and Blackjack after their respective whatever they called themselves asked for them.

Thunder abruptly crackled in the clear sky and Jason smiled triumphantly. "Soon."

Percy smugly pointed east, where a black winged horse was approaching fast. "Too late."

Charlie couldn't help the smile that spread over his face as he saw him. Annabeth had introduced Charlie to him a week before they left and Blackjack had immediately adopted Charlie after he gave him a couple donuts when Charlie met him, having heard the stories from everyone about how if you gave him one he would love you forever. It was true.

"A black pegasus?" Piper asked slightly startled. "Never seen one like that."

Blackjack landed and trotted over to Charlie and Percy, nuzzling their faces with a whine before turning to look at Piper and Jason curiously.

'Who are these guys?' Blackjack asked.

Percy immediately answered. "Blackjack, this is Jason and Piper. They're friends."

'Okay.' He said before excitedly begging us for donuts.

"Uh, maybe later." Percy said as Charlie dug into his bag looking for the Ziploc he had put some donuts in for the Pegasus.

"Got it!" Charlie said as he pulled it out, automatically opening it and feeding Blackjack one when he did his version of puppy dog eyes.

Percy gave a mildly disapproving look as Blackjack sang my praises and promised to not drop me 'not that I was going to of course but now I will definitely make sure not too.' I just rubbed his flank and sent my dad a mischievous look.

Piper raised an eyebrow. "Donuts?"

Dad shrugged. "They're his favorite. He can carry three of us if- "

The air turned cold and Charlie's ears popped all of a sudden. A horse materialized next to Jason, who grinned widely.

"Tempest, long time my friend." He said, rubbing the horse's nose.

Tempest reared and whinnied causing Blackjack to back up skittishly. Charlie soothingly rubbed his side as Percy shushed him.

"Easy boy," Percy said calmly. "He's a friend too." He then gave Jason an impressed look. "Nice ride, Grace."

Jason shrugged and explained how he got him while Charlie eyed the horse distrustfully. He had tried to ride him with Silena once when they were eight and the horse had proceeded to buck the both of them off its back. Neither of them were hurt but his relationship with that thing was pretty much nonexistent from then on so Charlie didn't really want to go near him.

Charlie let Percy get on Blackjack first before climbing up behind him, loosely wrapping his arms around his waist. Like a gunshot went off, the two animals took off and barreled down the road, Blackjack kicking up into the air a few seconds later.

Charlie laughed and put his arms out, feeling the wind rush past us. His dad turned to look at him and shook his head with a chuckle. Charlie just grinned at him, he had missed doing this. When Charlie was little Dad would always pack a bag, grab him, and later Zoe when she was born, take them out for a ride on Blackjack, and they would be gone for hours at a time. They were some of the best memories Charlie had of him and his dad.

Sadly the ride ended sooner rather than later and they landed at the thirty two mile marker. Charlie curiously looked around but couldn't see where Bacchus was.

Blackjack whinnied. 'Where's the wine dude? I don't see him.'

"You're right," Percy said. "No sign of the wine dude at all."

"I beg your pardon." Said an outraged voice from the fields to our left.

The horses whipped around; causing Charlie to hastily tighten his grip on his dad otherwise he would fall off. Percy's hand squeezed his for a second before letting go.

"Did someone just call me the _wine dude_?" He asked eyeing Charlie and his dad with distaste. Charlie bit his tongue to make sure he would keep his mouth shut. Annabeth always said that if anything was his fatal flaw, it was his runaway mouth.

"It's Bacchus, please." The wine dude continued. "Or Mr. Bacchus. Or Lord Bacchus. Or, sometimes, Oh-My-Gods-Please-Don't-Kill-Me, Lord Bacchus."

Charlie and Percy shared unimpressed looks as Percy urged an unwilling Blackjack forward.

"You look different," Percy informed the wine god. "Skinnier. Your hair is longer. And your shirt isn't so loud."

The god squinted up at them and appeared to deliberate if Percy was insulting him or not. "What in blazes are you talking about? Who are you, and where is Ceres?"

"Uh…what series?" Percy asked in confusion.

"I think he means Ceres," Jason mercifully explained. "The goddess of agriculture. You'd call her Demeter." He then turned and respectfully nodded at the wine god. "Lord Bacchus, do you remember me? I helped you with that missing leopard in Sonoma."

Bacchus scratched his stubbly chin in thought. "Ah…yes. John Green."

Jason took it like a champ and just calmly corrected him. "Jason Grace."

"Whatever," the god said, already dismissing the name. "Did Ceres send you, then?"

"No, Lord Bacchus," Jason said. "Were you expecting to meet her here?"

Bacchus snorted as if what he said was hilarious. "Well, I didn't come to Kansas to _party_ , my boy. Ceres asked me here for a council of war. What with Gaea rising, the crops are withering. Droughts are spreading. The _karpoi_ are in revolt. Even my grapes aren't safe. Ceres wanted a united front in the plant war."

"The plant war," Percy said skeptically. "You're going to arm all the little grapes with tiny assault rifles?"

Charlie snorted and buried his head into his dad's shoulder, trying his best not to cackle. Percy always picked the _worst_ times to make wise cracks. He squeezed Charlie's hand again, silently telling him to keep quiet. Charlie squeezed back, telling him to stop being such a smartass.

Charlie felt the god narrow his eyes at the two of them. "Have we met?"

"At Camp Half-Blood," Percy said nonchalantly. "I know you as Mr. D- Dionysus."

Charlie winced as Percy said the god's Greek name, resulting in his image flickering. His appearance changed to show a fatter, rattier person in a horrendously loud leopard print shirt. Then he turned back into Bacchus.

"Stop that!" He demanded angrily. "Stop thinking about me in Greek."

Percy blinked in shock. "Uh, but- "

"Do you have any idea how _hard_ it is to stay focused? Splitting headaches all the time! I never know what I'm doing or where I'm going! Constantly grumpy!" Bacchus raged hilariously.

"That sounds pretty normal for you." Percy shrugged. Charlie bit his lip hard and muffled his giggles. This was the reason his mom always said that the two of them were incorrigible together. Catching Piper's horrified look just made him want to laugh harder.

The wine dude didn't find it nearly as funny as Charlie did, as was apparent when one of the grape leaves on his hat burst into flames.

"If we know each other from that _other_ camp, it's a wonder I haven't already turned you into a dolphin." Bacchus said disdainfully as his nostrils flared.

Percy was quick to reassure him. "It was discussed; I think you were just too lazy to do it."

Charlie slapped a hand over his mouth as Piper interrupted the train wreck of a conversation Percy and the wine god was having.

"Lord Bacchus!" She said as she slipped off Tempest's back. Percy tried to take Charlie's hand off his mouth, causing Charlie to grip harder. Charlie was sure that if Percy kept talking he really _would_ be turned into a dolphin, and Charlie couldn't exactly be born if that happened now could he? Plus Annabeth would be _furious_ , and if you weren't afraid of that, then you were an idiot.

Percy gave up after he realized Charlie wasn't letting go and they just sat like that, watching Piper charm Bacchus.

Piper explained to the god about the _Argo ll_ and about the quest to stop the giants. He looked distinctly unimpressed the longer she talked. His expression didn't change much either when she mentioned the silver goblet her knife showed Bacchus giving her.

"Silver goblet?" He asked as he grabbed a Diet Pepsi from nowhere, popping the top.

Charlie's grip on Percy's mouth must have slackened because he wrenched his jaw from Charlie's grasp gently and spoke up about the gods' choice of beverage.

"You drink Diet Coke." He said sounding confused. Charlie tried to reapply his hand to Percy's mouth but he dodged and grabbed both of Charlie's hands, forcing them to stay in front of their bodies.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Bacchus snapped, irritated. "As to this vision of the goblet, young lady, I have nothing for you to drink unless you want a Pepsi. Jupiter has put me under strict orders to avoid giving wine to minors. Bothersome, but there you have it. As for the giants, I know them well. I fought in the first Giant War, you know."

"You can fight?" Percy asked in an astonished tone. Charlie jerked his hands out of his grip and slapped his shoulder hard, hissing at him to "Shut you're pie hole!"

He sent Charlie a wounded look over his shoulder as Bacchus snarled, making his Diet Pepsi transform into a five foot staff encircled with ivy, with a pinecone adorned to the top of it.

"A _thyrsus_!" Piper cried, probably hoping to distract the god from Charlie's too-snarky-for-his-own-good father. "Oh, what a mighty weapon!"

"Indeed," Bacchus agreed, calmed slightly by Piper's false admiration of his weapon. "I'm glad _someone_ in your group is smart." Charlie took offense to this portion of his sentence. "The pinecone is a fearsome tool of destruction! I was a demigod myself in the first Giant War, you know. The son of Jupiter!"

Jason gave a minute flinch and Charlie winced in sympathy. He would feel horrified if the wine dude was _his_ older brother too.

The god swung his staff through the air, overbalanced and almost tripped over his own feet. "Of course that was long before I invented wine and became an immortal. I fought side by side with the gods and some other demigod…Harry Cleese, I think."

"Heracles?"Piper politely suggested.

"Whatever," The wine god grumbled. "Anyway, I killed the giant Ephialtes and his brother Otis. Horrible boors, those two. Pinecone in the face for both of them!"

Charlie decided to look around the area and slipped off Blackjacks back, giving his dad a thumbs up when Percy glanced back at him in concern. He nodded and turned his attention back to Piper and Bacchus.

Charlie ignored the conversation behind him as he slowly walked a few feet away to look at something that had caught his attention.

It was a piece of shiny paper, no bigger than a napkin. He turned it over and was startled by what it was. It was a picture of him and his cousins that had been taken two months after Alejandro and Andre were born.

It was taken in front of the Big House on the steps. Silena, Lily and he were standing on the porch with their respective siblings perched on their hips, Zack and Emily were sitting on the steps by their feet with Gemma seated between them and Ethan was sitting on the grass, leaning on the steps with his legs spread, the twins lying in the space between his legs on a blanket, all of them with content smiles on their faces.

It was the Parents favorite picture of the Kids since their were all happy and healthy in it. So why was it lying in a Kansas highway twenty years before it was taken?

Charlie popped up and whirled around looking at the fields in paranoia, clenching the picture in his hand. He didn't get to look very far when he heard Jason yell something.

"Lord Bacchus, wait!" He called frantically.

The god ignored him and disappeared to the sound of a soda-can being opened. Charlie jogged back over to the three of them, stuffing the picture into his back pocket, resolving to talk to his cousins about it later.

"What the hell happened?" Charlie demanded as soon as he was in speaking range. Percy just gave him a 'not now' gesture as Piper said something.

"Bacchus is right," She said uneasily. "We need to leave- "

 _Too late,_ a sleepy voice seemed to coo in his ear, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Jason and Percy drew their swords as Charlie hastily grabbed Piper and pulled her into his side, drawing his own sword as well.

 _Welcome to my party,_ Gaea continued as her power suddenly encompassed everything around us. Every nerve in his body lit up as he tensed further, drawing every ounce of power Charlie had and putting it into his senses.

 _What did Bacchus say?_ The goddess continued, her voice pouring over him like honey, trying her best to dull his abilities. Charlie gritted his teeth and pushed back, needing to protect his family which meant keeping all of the power he had.

 _A simple, low-key affair with organic snacks? Yes. For my snacks, I need only two: the blood of a female demigod, and the blood of a male. Piper, my dear, choose which hero will die with you._

Charlie snarled to himself at her words; like _hell_ would he allow _any_ of his family members to die! Charlie set himself in a defensive position and continued to glance around them, waiting for something to pop up and attack them.

"Gaea!" Jason yelled in a furious tone. "Stop hiding in the wheat. Show yourself!"

 _Such bravado,_ Gaea admired. _But the other one, Percy Jackson, also has appeal. Choose, Piper McLean, or I will._

Piper looked terrified and nauseous at the goddess's words. Charlie couldn't blame her, _he_ felt nauseous at what Gaea was talking about and she hadn't even acknowledged his existence yet. Still he had to Piper give props when she got a hold of herself and yelled back.

"You're insane!" She hollered at the fields. "I'm not choosing anything for you!"

Jason gave a sudden gasp and sat up straight. Charlie immediately knew he had been taken over by one of the Eidolons and Percy had been as well. Charlie gripped Piper's arm and dragged her to the side of the road, out of the way.

"Jason!" Piper cried, struggling to get out of Charlie's hold. "What's wrong with you?"

He glanced down at them, showing them his blank expression and glowing gold eyes. Charlie knew then that the trouble had only just started.

"Percy, help!" She tried again, this time with his dad. He just galloped away and stopped thirty feet down the road, raised his sword and pointed the tip at Jason.

" _One will die,"_ He said in a voice that wasn't his own. It was too deep and harsh, nothing like the soothing voice that had always been directed at me.

" _I will choose,"_ Jason said in the same voice as Percy.

"No!" Piper screamed as the two demigods charged each other.

He took a deep breath and lunged hoping that Annabeth wouldn't be too mad at him for what he was about to do.

'Sorry Dad and Uncle Jason,' Charlie thought grimly. 'But this is necessary.'

 **What did you guys think? Are you mad at me for the cliffhanger? Let me know in the reviews! Anyway, what is Annabeth going to be mad about? What is Charlie going to do? And what does the picture mean?**

 **Find out next time on Fated to Save! Comic out!**


	17. Lighning Bolts and Highways

**I'm seeing a movie tonight that runs late so early chapter for you guys!**

 **(Piper POV [Enjoy!])**

Watching Charlie tackle Percy off of Blackjack was horrifying to witness. Not just him performing the act, but the expression he got when he made the decision to do it, the absolute determination of what he was about to do. The only thing running through Piper's mind was 'Annabeth is going to kill me.'

After all, not only had her boyfriend been possessed on her watch but now her son was throwing himself in the middle of duel between a son of Jupiter and a son of Poseidon. He was going to get himself _killed._

The two demigods had charged at each other but before they made contact Charlie had leapt at his father and executed an impressive body slam, resulting in Percy getting knocked to the ground. Blackjack whinnied and sprinted into the wheat fields.

Charlie quickly rolled to his feet and made a slashing motion at Tempest. The spirit horse reared away from the bronze blade, nearly dislodging his rider. Charlie calmly followed and started to speak.

"Uncle Jason, I know you can hear me. Don't let that thing control you." He said, narrowing his eyes when Jason gave no reaction to his words. Percy rolled over and climbed to his feet mechanically, causing Charlie to spare a glance at him and flip his stance so he had both possessed boys in his field of vision.

"Come on Dad, please fight this. I don't want to hurt you." He tried again, this time with Percy, again gaining no reaction.

He groaned and muttered something to himself before lunging once again at Percy. The father-son duo traded blows, neither of them getting a real hit on the other.

Then Jason decided to get in on the fight and rode in, aiming for Percy. She finally broke out of her immobile state and screamed out.

"Stop it!" Piper yelled at the top of her lungs.

Jason wavered instantly, the tip of his sword drooping. Percy, unfortunately, didn't and smacked Jason off Tempest. He thankfully turned his sword- maybe on purpose, maybe accidently- so the flat of the blade hit him in the middle of his chest.

Charlie swore and once again engaged his father in combat, making the hits harder and harder to dodge. Jason, after a moment, got to his feet and roared. A bolt of lightning arced out of the sky and hit his blade, redirecting itself to Percy.

Charlie, with a speed Piper didn't know he had, leapt in front of it, taking the hit for Percy. He was blasted back five feet, flipping head over heels until he landed roughly on his back and didn't move.

"Charlie!" Piper screamed, rushing towards her nephew. A figure got there first and she realized it was Percy, who was on his knees next to his son, a hand on his neck checking his pulse. He snapped his head up when she got closer, and Piper was startled to see his eyes had shifted back to the sea green it usually was instead of the gold it had become.

"Percy? Is he okay?" Piper asked hesitantly, backing away when his eyes narrowed at a point over her shoulder, leaving the question unanswered.

He flew to his feet and stalked over to Jason with deadly intent. Piper scrambled after him and started yelling.

"Percy, stop! It wasn't his fault! Something's controlling him!" she called, hoping to prevent the murder she knew Percy was planning.

Percy faltered and glanced back at her, his eyes back to being gold again. Piper helplessly watched as he turned back to Jason and the two of them made a move towards one another. They didn't get very far before two large shields made entirely out of water slammed into their heads, knocking them off their feet.

Piper gawked and spun around to see Charlie standing up, hand outstretched with his shirt smoking and a burst underground pipe spraying water to his right. He gave her a glance, making a frustrated expression as his green eyes darkened.

"Will you do something? Cause I'm tired of getting the shit kicked out of me." He growled, making another motion with his hand. Hearing a _smack_ behind her, Piper realized he must've used the water again.

She nodded hurriedly and spun to face the boys. They were on the ground, being restrained by the water that Charlie controlled. Percy, though, was obviously fighting him for control over it and Piper knew she had to do something or the situation was going to go from bad to worse.

"Who are you?" Piper demanded, looking at Jason.

His mouth twisted into a very non Jason looking smile. " _We are the eidolons. We will live again."_

"Eidolons…? You're some type of ghost?" Piper asked, running through all the monsters she had learned about at camp and coming up empty.

" _He must die."_ Jason said, focusing on Percy right beside him and broke out of Charlie's hold. Charlie cursed and let go of the water, allowing Percy to sweep a kick at Jason's leg, resulting in his head banging against the road with a sickening _crack!_

Percy stood up and leveled his sword at Jason's chest. Charlie threw himself back into the fray and protectively hovered over Jason. Percy gave him a frown but didn't move.

"Stop it!" Piper screamed again in desperation with no charmspeak in her voice.

Percy raised his sword and Charlie tensed up further. Piper took a deep breath and got a hold of herself.

"Eidolon, stop." she commanded. Percy froze and Charlie kept up his tense frame, watching him carefully.

"Face me." Piper ordered and the son of the sea god turned. His eyes were a glowing gold, his face pale and cruel. He looked nothing like Percy.

" _You have not chosen,"_ he said _"So this one will die."_

"You're a spirit from the Underworld." she guessed, making sure his attention was on her and not Charlie, who was inching around to face the back of his father, waiting for her to signal him to knock Percy out.

"You're possessing Percy Jackson. Is that it?" Piper continued, watching Charlie do an impressive imitation of a ninja with the way he was silently standing behind Percy.

Percy sneered, still unaware of Charlie. " _I will live again in this body. The Earth Mother has promised. I will go where I please, control whom I wish."_

Suddenly, everything clicked in her mind. "Octavian…that's what happened to him and the other two Romans. They were being controlled by an eidolon."

The thing inside of Percy laughed without humor and Charlie cringed at the noise. " _Too late you realize. You can trust no one."_

She gave Charlie a look and he nodded, moving with a dizzying speed and proceeded to bring Riptide's hilt down on to Percy's head. Hard.

Percy crumpled to the pavement beside Jason and Charlie crouched down next to him. Piper rushed over to the three boys as Blackjack poked his head out of the wheat and slowly inched over to them.

"Are they okay!?" Piper asked, kneeling beside Charlie.

He moved their heads and checked their pulses. "Eh…they should be fine. I didn't hit Dad that hard and Uncle Jason is notorious for having a hard head."

She stared at him, trying to see if he was joking or not. He just ignored her and looked at Blackjack, waving him over.

"Hey buddy, I'm sorry about the duel. Gaea's a massive bitch." He cooed, rubbing the pegasus's nose. Blackjack snorted and nodded in agreement before nickering in an almost inquisitive tone.

Charlie gave a sigh and winced as he breathed. "Dad will be just fine. Like I said I didn't hit him that hard, just enough to knock him out."

The horse brayed and nudged Charlie's hand with his nose.

Charlie gave a weak laugh and answered Blackjack's apparent question. "I'm good too. I've sparred with Aunt Thalia before and she doesn't pull her punches."

Piper gave a relieved sigh after feeling Jason's pulse herself and entered into the conversation. "We need to get them back to the ship."

The horse bobbled his head in agreement and kneeled down so that they could get the two unconscious boys on his back, Charlie doing most of the lifting.

Charlie glanced between Blackjack and Piper, appearing to make a decision. "Aunt Piper, you take them back to the ship and I'll stay here. Blackjack can't carry four people; we need to make two trips."

"What? No way! You're the one who can actually talk to him, you go!" she protested, not wanting to leave him here alone.

His expression turned angry. "Look Aunt Piper, they need to go back to the ship. If you stay, you're liable to get killed which would screw _everything_ up. Besides you've only been a trained demigod for a couple _months,_ I've been training since I could walk. I have a better chance of surviving if something wants to pick a fight."

She flinched at the words despite how true they were. Piper knew he was right; she just didn't want to leave him here, _alone_ , to possible be killed.

She must have flinched harder than she thought because he winced and toned down his frustration.

"Please Aunt Piper, I'll be fine. Blackjack will be gone twenty minutes, tops. Ten to get you to the ship and ten back. I'll be aboard the _Argo ll_ before you know it." He said gently, giving her a puppy dog look.

Piper ran through what he said in her mind and sighed in defeat. "All right, fine. But you had better not get into trouble! You're mother is going to kill me as it is."

He gave her a crooked smile. "I'll be careful, I promise."

He boosted her up onto Blackjack's back and sent them off with a wave, standing there like he hadn't just knocked his father unconscious and been hit with lightning.

One thing was for sure, he was most definitely a hero, just like his parents.

 **What did you guys think of the POV switch? Also did you like how I changed the fight scene between the boys with Charlie involved in it? Was Percy's reaction good or unrealistic? Let me know in the reviews! Now onto the teaser questions!**

 **I wonder how Annabeth will react to Charlie being left behind. Hell how will Percy react? Will Charlie be okay or will he find trouble? And how is Percy and Jason's standoff going to twist after Jason shot Charlie with a lightning bolt?**

 **Find out next time on Fated to Save! Comic out!**

RosettaQueen20- _Glad you liked it! I love doing cliffhangers because I feel they raise the tension a little. I am feeling much better now that it's been a solid week since I got that tooth pulled so all is well! I have plans for when Nico and Reyna get on the ship don't worry. My plan is to make three fics; Fated to Save is the first in the series and takes place during MoA. The two others will take place during HoH and BoO. I'm planning on each of the three fics to be about 40 chaps long, maybe more._

Jazmin (Guest) - _Thank you! As I said I plan on doing a three fic series so don't worry! And please do recommend this! I would love it I you would do that! Hope you keep enjoying this!_

Guest (You didn't leave a name) – _Thank you! I'll be sure to do that!_

EspeonAuraGirl55- _This was one of my favorite chapters too. Charlie keeps them from hurting one another too bad; in fact he does most of the smacking. I find it hilarious that Zeus made that law and nobody but Hades followed it._

Didi - _Thanks! I'll let you in on a secret; the siblings are going to play an important part in the story. You'll find out what it is later. I like the nickname but the one I already picked out has significance. Thanks for the suggestion though!_

dioVv – _No sweetie, The seven completed the quest and put Gaea to sleep but before they did she did something to Tartarus that continued to cause monsters to never die despite the Doors of Death being closed. Eventually Giants and Titan rose from Tartarus to wreak havoc, which is why the Kids were sent back in time. Hopefully this cleared some things up for you! Don't worry about asking questions, I'll be always be more than happy to answer them!_


	18. We Pull Out The Baby Pictures

**(Silena POV)**

Silena was not expecting her mother to come back from the Kansas highway with two unconscious boys. What she was more concerned about though after witnessing the scene of Blackjack landing on the deck with her worried looking mother and unconscious dad and uncle, was the lack of her older cousin.

Silena quickly walked over and helped unload the two demigods, only for Blackjack to take off again the instant they were off his back.

Grabbing her dad's legs while Frank got his upper body, Silena glanced at her mom and asked with a slightly incredulous tone. "What happened out there?"

Piper gave a grunt from her position of holding Percy's legs while Annabeth clutched at his torso and gasped out. "I'll tell you when we get them settled in the med bay."

Ethan curiously came up the stairs as they got to them and gawked at them. "What happened?"

He thankfully asked this while grabbing Percy's legs from Piper and helped them haul the two of them downstairs, passing Lily, Zack and Emily on the way there. The three of them silently stared at the five of them hauling the two unconscious boys as they shimmied down the hallway.

"It's a really long story, honey." Piper huffed as they laid the unconscious males on the beds in sick bay.

Ethan and Silena traded looks as Hazel and Coach Hedge entered the already full room.

"Mom, I think it's one you need to start telling." Silena informed her, finding a spot on the wall to lean on while Coach Hedge and Zack, who had entered the room as well with Lily, Leo and Emily, checked over Jason and Percy.

She gave a nod and quickly explained what had transpired in Kansas causing Annabeth to inhale sharply when she got to the part about Charlie getting blasted. Silena wasn't too worried though; he had gone toe to toe with Thalia before and was _mostly_ able to walk it off. A blast from Jason like that wouldn't be able to kill him.

Jason and Percy started waking up as she finished her explanation and everyone watched them worriedly as they groaned their way into consciousness.

Annabeth barely let Percy wake up before verbally pouncing on him. "Perceus Jackson! You're supposed to be protecting our son, not dueling him in the middle of a Kansas highway!"

Percy moaned, holding his head. "What? What do you mean duel? Where's Charlie?"

He glanced around the room, looking for his son before focusing back on Piper, who was cringing.

"Piper," He said in a 'calm' tone. "Where is my son?"

"Um…" She said, looking slightly afraid. "He's still at the highway. Blackjack couldn't carry all four of us so he decided to stay behind."

Percy looked decidedly unpleased. "So you're telling me, that my fourteen year old son, who I remember getting blasted with lightning," Jason winced immediately and gained a worried look. "Is still at the highway that Gaea was at?"

Piper took a deep breath and nodded grimly. Percy's eyes narrowed and he swung his legs off the bed.

"I'm getting him." He said in a determined tone.

Before he could make it to the door with Annabeth right beside him Charlie appeared through it, looking slightly worse for wear.

His shirt was peppered with burn holes, his hair was a mess, he had cuts on his face and hands, and was walking stiffly.

Piper inhaled sharply and exclaimed. "What happened while I was gone?"

Ethan, who was right by him, tossed Charlie's arm over his shoulder and dragged him to the bed that Percy had previously occupied. Charlie laid down and simply let Zack treat his wounds, eating and drinking the ambrosia and nectar he was handed.

"Grain spirits are annoying little fuckers." He grumbled before turning to Jason and Percy. "Glad to see you two are up. Think you both can you know, _not_ , attack each other again? Because breaking up that fight _sucked."_

Annabeth hugged him and gave a glare to both demigods. "They aren't fighting again, sweetie. Right, boys?" She 'asked'.

They both hurriedly nodded and Percy sat on Charlie's other side. "How are you feeling?" He asked, concerned.

Charlie shrugged. "Not too bad, actually. The scratches are just superficial and Aunt Thalia has hit me with worse lightning than Uncle Jase did. Give me twenty minutes and I'll be right as rain."

His parents frowned at each other but let it go. Leo cleared his throat and looked at Piper in askance.

"So, you mentioned Atlanta. Why?" He aimed at her.

Piper blinked as if just remembering she had said something about that. "Yeah, Bacchus said we need to go there to find someone named Phorcys and something about salt water."

Everyone in the room looked perplexed as she said that but Leo, after a moment, shook himself out of it.

"Right, salt water, got it." He mumbled before speaking louder. "I'll set us on a course for Atlanta. Lily?" He said, waving his hand toward the door and followed after his daughter.

Frank, Hazel, Coach Hedge and all of Silena's cousins followed them out of the room. She stood to leave as well but Charlie stopped her.

"Lena, I need to talk to you about something." He said grimly, ignoring the both sets of parents still in the room.

She raised an eyebrow and perched in a chair. "About what?"

He wet his lips nervously. "We need to tell them. About you know." He gestured uselessly.

She stared at him in confusion for a second before it clicked in her head. Their siblings, of course. Silena eyed the parents nervously as well, catching their anxious expressions.

"You sure? What's the reason for doing this now?" Silena asked in a suspicious tone.

He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled something out, handing it to her. She looked at it and her heart dropped to her feet.

She snapped her head up and met his eyes. "What the hell is this doing here?!"

The parents looked startled in the background as Charlie answered her.

"I don't know. But we need to figure this out and the only way to do _that_ is getting as many people as we can in this, trying to solve it." He said with a resigned air around him.

Silena took a breath and nodded. "Are we telling them now and the others later or waiting until everyone is together."

He shrugged. "I figure we tell them now and the rest later when we're discussing Atlanta."

Jason finally reached the end of his rope and snapped. "What are you two talking about? What don't we know?"

Charlie and Silena exchanged looks and decided that she would start them off. "We didn't tell you everything about the future involving our family."

The 'adults' looked nervous and Percy spoke up. "What is it?"

"All of us except Emily have siblings." Charlie said biting the bullet.

The parents looked like they had been slapped.

"You guys have _siblings._ " Annabeth said in a forced tone. Charlie and Silena both cringed but nodded.

Piper cleared her throat. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"It was decided that we needed to tell you guys as little as possible about the future." Charlie fidgeted with his fingers.

Percy looked slightly confused. "Then why tell us now?"

"Because I found a picture on that highway. A picture that none of us Kids brought and which could only have been taken in the future." Charlie said.

She took over from there. "Which begs the question, if we didn't bring it, then who did?"

"And why did they leave it for one of us to find." Charlie finished, scowling at the mystery they seemed to have on their hands.

The parent's facial expression shifted instantly.

"Someone's letting us know that you aren't the only time travelers." Annabeth deduced. Charlie gave her a nod.

"How many siblings do you guys have?" Jason abruptly asked. Charlie bit his lip and thought for second, running the risks of telling them through his head.

"Silena has a little brother, Louis, he's six. Zack and Lily have younger sisters, Zack's is Gemma, who's two and Lily's is Gabriela, who's three. Ethan has twin baby brothers, Alejandro and Andre, who are seven months old. I have a baby sister as well, Zoe, she's five." Charlie told them, with a 'what the hell' attitude.

Percy blinked in shock and pointed at Charlie. "You have a little sister." He then pointed at his chest. "I have a baby girl?"

Charlie gave a faint smirk and nodded his head. Percy sank in to his seat and muttered "Oh my gods."

Jason laughed at him. "Now you know how I feel."

Percy ignored him and put his head in his hands. Annabeth shook her head at her boyfriend's dramatics and asked if she could see the picture.

Silena happily handed it over and smiled in unison with Charlie when she gasped softly at Zoe.

"She looks just like Percy." She held the picture gently, like if she held it too tight it would dissolve into dust.

Percy lifted his head and looked at the picture with a startled expression. "She has your eyes." Was all he pointed out as he adopted Annabeth's same awed expression.

Piper and Jason both shifted over to look at the picture as well and Piper cooed at Louis.

"Jason, he looks like a mini you." She said, holding his hand. Jason laughed wetly and nodded.

Charlie and Silena shared grins at their parent's reaction.

Percy cleared his throat. "You guys didn't happen to bring pictures, did you?"

Charlie got a contemplative look as the parents in a slightly hilarious role reversal looked at us with puppy dog eyes.

"Actually now that you mention it, I did. Hold on, I'll be right back." He vanished through the door and appeared two minutes later.

"I made copies of all our family pictures and made a huge album in case we were ever feeling homesick." He explained, coming into the room toting a giant photo album.

He laid it down on the bed and flipped to the front page as everyone crowded around him.

"Ah, of course the baby pictures." Silena said, pointing at a one depicting the first time Jason held her.

All four parents cooed over the picture. "You're so tiny." Piper awed at the scene while Jason looked blown away.

Charlie put his finger on another one that showcased Annabeth, Percy and a two week old Charlie passed out on a king sized bed. Charlie was on his back, sound asleep, while his parents laid on their sides on either side of him, keeping him in place, completely knocked out.

"I think Aunt Thalia took this one." He said, grinning at the picture.

Annabeth sighed happily and Percy continued to ruin his street cred with his cooing. Charlie snorted but continued to flip through the book before landed on their sibling's baby pictures.

"This was taken just after Zoe had gotten cleaned up after Mom gave birth. I think you took this one Aunt Piper." He said, pointing at it.

It depicted Annabeth looking exhausted but content, holding a minutes old Zoe to her chest while Percy was sitting right beside his two girls with red rimmed eyes, putting a hand on Zoe's tiny head.

Percy coughed to hide his tears and Annabeth sniffled quietly.

Silena pointed to the next one. "This one was taken two days after Mom gave birth. Uncle Leo took it."

It showed Piper in her hospital bed, looking a little tired, holding Louis up to the camera while Jason sat perched on the side of the bed with an eight year old Silena in his lap.

"Oh my gods. This is really real." Piper breathed as she leaned her head on Jason's shoulder.

Charlie and Silena snorted and replied in unison. "Yep."

The two of them backed away as their parents delved deeper into the photos and Silena rested her head on Charlie's shoulder resulting in him laying his head on top of hers.

"At least they know now." He murmured to her as we watched in amusement.

She huffed a quiet laugh. "Yeah, but we still need to figure out who left that picture in Kansas."

Silena felt rather than heard him sigh. "We'll get to that later. Let's just enjoy this for now."

She agreed and fell silent, watching their parents. She still felt uneasy though. Who had left that picture for them? How did they _get_ it? Were they from the future? What did they intend to say, leaving it where they would find it? As these questions flowed through her brain, Silena had one consistent thought.

Things just got a lot more complicated.

 **There you go! Not a whole lot of plot development but you got some cute moments in there that should make up for it right? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **See you next time on Fated to Save! Comic out!**

RosettaQueen20- _Thanks! I love updating this story! I'm glad you liked my version of Kansas. The siblings are definitely playing a big role in this series. See you Friday!_

EspeonAuraGirl55- _The reason for the POV switch was because I figured it would give you a better view what was happening. I like Piper well enough out of a combat situation but the moment swords come out she's a little out of her league. My main problem with her is that instead being an adult and talking to her quest mates about the crap she sees in her knife, she keeps it to herself and puts them in danger simply because she didn't want to deal with what she saw. Other than that I'm okay with her. I'm glad Percy was believable, and Jason is gonna get it, don't worry. Annabeth and Percy were simply distracted by the baby pictures._

Didi (Guest) _– I don't mind the two reviews at all! I'm happy you liked the chapter! Trust me, Jason is gonna be on the receiving end of a LOT of glares and pointed sentences from the Jacksons minus Charlie. He doesn't blame Jason, plus his parents are getting his revenge for him anyway. One does not simply blast Annabeth's son with lightning and walk away without getting the crap kicked out of you after all._


	19. Three Possessed Boys Play Chicken

**So be forewarned this is just a rant, okay? Good, so I got this guest review.**

"I know it's rude of me to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway: Will and Nico can't have a son, because they're both MALES! I stoped reading the moment I read about a dude that was born by two other dudes. That's a no-no for me. I don't know how you gonna explain his birth, because I stoped reading, but I'm not gonna risk it

You have good ideas though, despite the hole in your set of characters."

 **First of all, stopped has two Ps and its 'your' instead of 'you'.**

 **Secondly, in case it wasn't obvious, Zack and Gemma are both** **ADOPTED** **. Notice the bold underlined word yet? Because yes random person, I do in fact know how biology works.**

 **Thirdly, it's incredibly close minded and rather rude to just basically assume I'm an idiot. Yes, two dudes cannot have kids with each other, I know. I'm not an idiot**

 **Fourthly, nowhere in my ENTIRE story did I say** _ **anything**_ **about either Will or Nico giving birth. I thought since I didn't say anything about MPreg people would make the logical jump of 'Golly gee, if two men have kids and the author didn't say he was born to them then he must be adopted!'. I had honestly hoped people would be smart enough but I guess not.**

 **Okay rant over. Also I want everyone to know this was directed at the guest and no one else. I probably wouldn't have even done this if this guy hadn't been so rude. And the only reason I'm so pissed is because I love my story and to have this person completely stop reading it because of something he** _ **thought**_ **I did instead of asking me to clarify a part of the story rubbed me the wrong way. This guy is probably not going to read it anyway so what the hell right?**

 **Anyway apologies about the longish rant! I just needed to get this off my chest. On with the chapter!**

 **(Silena POV)**

The rest of the parents reacted just like hers and Charlie's parents did. They spent twenty minutes cooing and awing over the family album. Charlie had even bullied Zack into Iris messaging Uncle Will and telling him about Gemma. He was understandably annoyed but calmed down after Zack showed him a picture of her. Iris was thankfully feeling charitable and the Iris message was stable.

Eventually though they got down to down to business and Piper started explaining what happened in Kansas again, going deeper into it this time around.

"Of course!" Hazel said enthusiastically after Piper explained about eidolons, slapping the table which startled Frank badly enough that he dropped his burrito. Charlie, Zack, and Lily snickered quietly. "That's what happened to Octavian and the other two!"

"So it's not their fault?" Leo looked kind of relieved at the fact that the three Romans hadn't fired on purpose.

Charlie gave a _eh_ motion with his hand. "I don't know, from what we heard about Octavian over the years he wasn't exactly the greatest guy. I would bet good money that if he wasn't such a loyal Roman, he would still have done it to set us up without the eidolons controlling him."

All of those in the room that knew Octavian gave a reluctant nod of agreement when given questioning looks.

"The Romans don't know anything about the eidolons. Why would they take our word for it?" Annabeth redirected the conversation back to topic at hand.

"We should contact Reyna," Jason suggested, unaware of the expression on Piper's face that made it look like she had just sucked on a lemon. "She would believe us."

He then turned to Piper with a hopeful expression on his face. "You could convince her, Pipes. I know you could."

Annabeth aimed her 'Our boys are idiots' look toward Piper while Hazel winced in sympathy. Charlie and Ethan silently face palmed as Lily and Silena shared eye rolls that said the exact same thing, 'He's stupid.'

Even the other men in the room looked at Jason like he was a moron. Percy stared at him in disbelief, Frank looked like he wanted to anywhere else and Leo seemed to be reconsidering his friendship with Jason. How Jason didn't see _any_ of this was a mystery to Silena. Piper swallowed down whatever she was feeling and halfheartedly answered him.

"I could try," She said in a forced even tone. "But Octavian is the one we have to worry about. In my dagger, I saw him taking control of the Roman crowd. I'm not sure Reyna can stop him."

Jason's expression darkened as Hazel and Frank nodded in agreement.

"She's right," Frank said, picking up his burrito. "This afternoon when we were scouting, we saw eagles again. They were a long way off, but closing fast. Octavian is on the warpath."

Nobody looked particularly happy at that. Hazel grimaced at what she was going to say.

"This is exactly the sort of opportunity Octavian has always wanted. He'll try to seize power. If Reyna objects, he'll say she's soft on the Greeks. As for those eagles…it's like they could smell us." She said, absently picking at her fingernails, a trait that Silena noticed Emily got from her.

Jason dropped an unwelcome truth bomb. "They can. Roman eagles can hunt demigods by their magical sent even better than monsters can. This ship might conceal us somewhat but not completely, not from them." He said grimly.

Leo drummed his fingers on the table. "Great. I should have installed a smoke screen that makes the ship smell like a giant chicken nugget. Remind me to invent that, next time."

Lily looked interested in the prospect of building it while Hazel frowned in confusion. "What is a chicken nugget?"

"Oh, man…" Leo shook his head in disbelief before gaining a delighted look. "That's right. You've missed the last like, seventy years. Well, my apprentice, a chicken nugget- "

Annabeth interrupted him before he could get into his explanation, much to Lily's, The Terror Twins, Charlie's and Percy's disappointment.

"Doesn't matter," She gave Leo her 'Quit messing around' look that was usually reserved for her husband. "The point is, we'll have a hard time explaining the truth to the Romans. Even if they believe us- "

"You're right." Jason leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table and leaning on his hands. "We should keep going. Once we're over the Atlantic, we'll be safe… at least from the legion."

Jason looked depressed at the thought and Piper gave him a sympathetic look, rubbing his shoulder lightly. Silena felt Emily, who was seated on her right, shift in her patented 'Boredom is killing me' squirm. Charlie, who was sat on Emily's other side, gave an amused look as he threw an arm over her shoulders to keep her from squirming. Emily gave him a pout but snuggled into him.

Hazel and Annabeth sent the two amused smiles as Piper asked "How can you be sure? Why wouldn't they follow us?"

"You heard Reyna talking about the ancient lands. They're too dangerous. Roman demigods have been forbidden from going there for generations. Even Octavian couldn't get around that rule." Jason explained further.

Frank suddenly didn't seem to be enjoying his burrito as much. "So, if _we_ go there…"

"We'll be outlaws as well as traitors," Jason nodded grimly. "Any Roman demigod would have the right to kill us on sight. But I wouldn't worry about that. If we get across the Atlantic, they'll give up on chasing us. They'll assume that we'll die in the Mediterranean- the Mare Nostrum."

Percy pointed his pizza slice at Jason sarcastically. "You, sir, are a ray of sunshine."

Charlie snorted at his dad as he unconsciously ran his fingers through a half asleep Emily's hair. Even after knowing Emily since she was born, Silena was still amazed at her ability to fall asleep _anywhere_. It was a nice talent.

Jason didn't argue Percy's statement. Everyone stared at their plates, other than Percy and Charlie. The Jackson boys were munching on their respective dinners still, Uncle Percy with his pizza and Charlie with his burger. Those two ate like satyrs most days, Silena swore it.

"So let's plan ahead," Percy suggested after swallowing his bite of pizza. "and make sure we don't die. Mr. D- Bacchus- Ugh do I have to call him Mr. _B_ now? Anyway, he mentioned the twins in Ella's prophecy. Two giants. Otis and, uh, something that started with an F?"

"Ephialtes," Jason said.

"Twin twin giants, like Piper saw in her blade…" Annabeth stared off into space as she played with the rim of her cup. "I remember a story about twin giants. They tried to reach Mount Olympus by piling up a bunch of mountains."

Frank choked hilariously on his burrito. "Well, that's great. Giants who can use mountains like building blocks. And you say Bacchus killed these guys with a pinecone stick?"

As Percy answered him and mentioned something about tributes, Silena noticed Charlie glance down at the mostly asleep twelve year old cuddled into him and gave a chuckle before quietly rolling to his feet. He pulled her into a standing hug and hiked her up onto his hips, treating her like a two year old instead of the preteen she was.

Ethan did the same thing to Zack as Charlie said "We'll be right back. We're just gonna put these two to bed. Don't wait for us."

Annabeth nodded and gestured at the two of them to go. Charlie briefly lifted one hand from Emily to shoot his mother a thumbs up as Lily and Silena stood up and followed them out the door. The six of them moved toward the younger twos respective cabins, Charlie and Ethan only stopping to unload their cargo into their own beds.

Silena followed Ethan into Zack and Leo's shared cabin, noting with amusement that Zack's bed was a mess and Uncle Leo's was cluttered with tools, wires, and gods know what else.

Ethan put Zack on the bed and worked to release the death grip the black haired boy had on him. Ethan grumbled good-naturedly as he finally worked his way out of Zack's arms. He gave Silena an exasperated look that she returned.

The two of them walked back out of the cabin, Ethan closing the door after she shut off the lights. They met Lily and Charlie in the hallway and walked back to the mess hall.

They stumbled into a tense atmosphere as Percy, Jason and Leo raised their hands with their eyes glassy and gold. Hazel caught her breath as Frank scrambled away from Leo, bumping into the wall.

The four cousins stepped more fully into the room, Lily and Charlie moving to their fathers while Ethan and Silena moved towards her mother.

She barely gave the two a glance as she spoke. "Are there more of you on this ship?"

" _No_ ," Leo said in a voice not his own. Right beside him, Lily cringed but stayed where she was. " _The Earth Mother sent three. The strongest, the best. We will live again_."

"Not here, you won't," Piper growled, glaring at the three possessed boys. "All three of you listen carefully."

They turned toward her, doing as she told them too. Unfeeling gold eyes stared at Silena's mother, it fueled her rage more, Silena could feel it.

Ethan inched over to Leo, laying an unconscious hand on the pendant around his neck, ready to pull it and bring his sword out.

"You will leave these bodies." Piper commanded irritably, still glaring at them.

" _No_ ," Percy said, ignoring Charlie who was standing near him, prepared to knock him out again.

Leo let out a hiss causing Ethan and Lily to tense up further. " _We must live_."

Frank fumbled with his bow. "Mars Almighty, that's creepy! Get out of here, spirits! Leave our friends alone!"

Leo turned toward him, unhappy at being commanded by someone other than Piper. " _You cannot command us, child of war. Your own life is fragile. Your soul could burn at any moment._ "

Frank looked like he'd been sucker punched but drew an arrow. "I- I've faced down worse things then you. If you want a fight- "

"Ethan, control!" Charlie barked out before Frank could finish his sentence.

Ethan understood the code and stepped forward, in front of Frank and glared at him. "I'd put that down if I were you." He growled lowly, finally tugging on his pendant, releasing his sword.

Frank swallowed hard and stepped back nervously as Hazel warned him. "Frank, do what he says." She rose. Next to her, Jason drew his sword.

Silena clapped her hands, smacking her rings together and making her twin daggers appear. Beside her, Piper scrambled to control the situation.

"Stop!" Her voice wavered slightly.

Hazel backed her up. ""Listen to Piper." She pointed at Jason's sword and made it fall to the table. Jason sank back into his chair.

Percy growled, resulting in Charlie putting his hand in his pocket and pulling out Riptide, still in pen form.

" _Daughter of Pluto you may control gems and metals. You do not control the dead_." Percy seethed, glaring at Charlie who glared right back.

Annabeth reached for her boyfriend as if to restrain him but Charlie waved her off, shifting his weight into a stance that I knew meant business.

Silena continued to size up her dad, mind running through how she could knock his ass out before he could hurt anyone.

"Listen, eidolons," Hazel said sternly, ignoring what the spirit said. "You do not belong here. I may not command you, but Piper does. Listen to her."

She looked to Piper, giving her a supportive look.

Piper took a breath, steadying herself before looking Jason right in the eyes. "You will leave these bodies."

Jason's face tightened as he fought internally against Piper's words. " _We- we will leave these bodies_."

"You will vow on the River Styx never to return to this ship," Piper continued, not giving them an inch. "and never to possess any member of this crew again."

Leo and Percy hissed in protest causing Ethan and Charlie to glare at them harder.

"You will promise on the River Styx." Piper insisted in a no nonsense tone.

A heartbeat of silence passed before all three possessed boys forced out the words. " _We promise on the River Styx_."

"You are dead."

" _We are dead_." The eidolons agreed.

"Now leave."

All three of them slumped like puppet with their strings cut off. Percy fell face first into his pizza, Charlie and Annabeth grabbing him and sitting him up.

Piper and Hazel caught Jason as he slipped out the chair while Ethan and Lily caught Leo before he could hit the floor, Frank making no move to help.

"Ow!" Leo groaned as Ethan righted him in his chair.

"Are you alright?" Lily asked worriedly.

He rubbed his head. "Yeah _carino,_ I'm fine. Did it work?"

"It worked," Piper said, giving a relieved sigh. "I don't think they'll be back."

Jason blinked. "Does that mean I can stop getting head injuries now?"

Piper and Silena laughed while Ethan and Charlie snorted as they put their weapons away. Charlie however lost his amusement quickly when he caught sight of Frank putting his arrow away.

"I've got a bone to pick with you." He told him, striding toward him and away from his parents.

Frank regained his deer-in-the-headlights look. "Wh- what did I do?"

Charlie scowled as he stopped in front of him, glaring hard. "When one of the members of the crew gets possessed, you do not _pick a fight with it._ "

Frank opened his mouth to speak but Charlie steamrolled right over him.

"I shouldn't have had to have Ethan walk over here and tell you to put it down! I don't what you think is going on between Uncle Leo and Aunt Hazel but the fact that you and she have a _daughter_ should've clued you into the fact that they're friends and nothing more!" Charlie yelled angrily, causing Frank to snap his mouth shut. Ethan and Silena shared a look conveying one thing. ' _Oh no.'_

"Get your head out of your ass and stop trying to make this into a measuring contest. Uncle Leo is not trying to get with Aunt Hazel. You had better quit this caveman bullshit _right now_. The only thing that will come out of this entire charade is somebody's death. So, cut it out alright?" Charlie finished, toning done his glare slightly.

Frank fidgeted nervously but bucked up his pride. "And if I don't?"

Ethan, Lily and Silena faced palmed while Charlie growled in rage. "Then I'll make you. If you don't think I can then look back on the last two days. I have been sliced open, punched, and electrocuted; I walked away from all of that like it was nothing. So, if you _really_ want to go then let's go, just be warned that I can't be trusted to pull my punches." Charlie crossed his arms and waited for his answer.

Before Frank could answer though Annabeth cut in. "Nobody is fighting anyone. Frank, Charlie is right. This little completion that you've apparently decided you and Leo are in needs to stop. If it doesn't, it will get someone killed." She got in between them, giving Charlie a looked that was pretty clear. ' _Back off. I got it from here.'_

Charlie obediently stepped back a few paces and tiredly ran a hand through his hair. Silena looked at him sympathetically; it had been a really crappy day for him. It was no wonder really why he snapped.

Annabeth continued speaking to Frank. "And if you dare accept Charlie 'offer', I can and will kick your ass. _No one_ is laying a hand on my son if I can help it" She aimed that last bit toward Jason, who gave a tired thumbs up.

Frank nodded and quietly sat down at the table. Charlie rolled his previously injured shoulder and muttered about going to bed, walking out the door.

The last of the Kids followed him out, calling various 'good nights' to everyone. Silena stumbled into her cabin and exhaustedly fell on her bed, not even kicking off her shoes.

The last thing she remembered was her mom kissing her forehead and pulling a blanket over her.

 **There you go! Chapter nineteen! I'm sorry about the rant up top, that review just rubbed me the wrong way. You guys got an early chapter out of it so whatever, right? *Shrugs* But I also wanted to tell you guys that on my profile if you scroll to the bottom, you'll find a list of my OC's which will tell you more info about them! Stuff like how they look, what powers they have and the like. So, go check it out!**

 **Oh! Before I forget, I was wondering if you guys would mind suggesting actors and actresses who could play the Kids? Cause it would be really cool to add that to their bios and people could look up the actors and realize THAT'S what they look like in my head. Thanks!**

RosettaQueen20- _Thank you! I like writing fluff as well as angst so you'll see a lot of both. And in regards to your guesses, one of them was right. I just won't tell you which one but I will tell you it's not Zoe. See ya!_

Didi (Guest) _– I'm glad you liked Percy's reaction! I always figured he would be the one to cry over their kids while Annabeth told him to suck it up. And Jason would give Percy shit over it despite him doing the same thing. I'm not taking that bet because you're right. ;D_

Sierra107- _You're awesome, that's all I have to say. You're just awesome._


	20. Poker Games and Tattletales

**Thursday/Friday update is here! I'd also like to note that I'm not gonna do anymore 'surprise third updates' for awhile simply because I want to build up a stock of chapters that way if I ever get super busy or sick, you lovely people won't be without your weekly update! And I'm a workaholic so believe me when I say if I'm not writing, I'm thinking about what I** _ **want**_ **to write. Oh! I'm changing the POV from first person to third, I find it's MUCH easier to both read and write it like that. I've already replaced chapters eighteen and nineteen, and I plan on redoing the other chapters as well. Any who, on with the chapter!**

 **(Silena POV)**

Some days Silena hated Charlie, simply because he had gotten her so used to functioning on six hours of sleep or less that she found it was impossible to get more than that unless she was exhausted. She knew Lily felt the same way as her and Ethan had always been a night owl. The Terror Twins slept for as long as possible, regardless of what any one did.

So that meant she was up and lounging around the mess hall with Charlie, Ethan and Lily when Annabeth woke up Percy.

Charlie cocked his head to the side and listened intently for a moment before his lips twitched into a smile.

Lily noticed and gave a raised eyebrow. "What's the smile for, Chuckles?"

He smirked and crossed his arms. "Looks like my mom is waking up my dad."

Silena, Ethan and Lily shared mischievous looks before Ethan schooled his expression. "Think we should tell them that you aren't supposed to be born for another like five years?"

"It's not like that and you know it." Charlie chided.

Lily widened her eyes innocently. "Of course not! We would just be imparting knowledge."

Charlie gave her a 'really' expression. "Uh huh, sure."

"I've got ten on Uncle Leo finding them." Silena threw her two cents in.

Ethan cracked his knuckles. "I'll take you up on that. I'll put ten on it being Aunt Hazel."

"Put me down for Coach Hedge." Lily said with a haughty smirk on her face.

Charlie shook his head in amusement. "Fine, I'll say it's Uncle Frank."

The four shook hands and went back to quietly talking. Silena drummed her fingers on the surface of the table, thinking hard. Charlie glanced at her and asked what was wrong.

She sighed. "I'm thinking about the picture. I mean, why would someone just leave it there? How did they even get it?"

Charlie gained a serious expression, one that Ethan and Lily mirrored. "I've been thinking on it too. It can't be one of our parents; they would have come up to us, not leave pictures and a Kansas highway. I can't think of anyone else though." Charlie sounded frustrated, running an agitated hand through his hair.

Silena nodded in agreement, absently biting her lip. Everyone was quiet for a few seconds before Lily sighed in defeat.

"Who wants to play poker?" She said, standing up and stretching.

Silena shared a look with the two boys, exchanging a shrug. "Sure, are we playing for chips and candy?"

"What else do we play for?" Lily retorted as she walked out of the room, presumably to get the deck of cards.

Charlie snorted and murmured "Smartass." Silena and Ethan laughed and agreed.

Lily appeared through the doorway a minute later. "Both of Charlie's parents aren't in their cabins. I'm pretty sure they went to the stables."

"Probably." Charlie admitted before cracking his neck. "Are we playing or what?"

"Calm down Fish Boy, I'm shuffling them." Lily said in mock stern tone as she sat down and began shuffling the cards like a professional. She finished, dealt the cards to everyone and the game began.

They played six hands before Emily and Zack stumbled in, yawning loudly. The two of them took one look at the table and demanded to be dealt in.

As they played Silena couldn't help the smile that came across her face, it had been awhile since they had done something like this. For the last two years their lives had been on a schedule. Wake up, eat, train, eat, rest a little, train, eat, and go to bed. Then they did it all over again. It felt nice relaxing like this again.

We played for two hours, Ethan and Charlie tied for first place in how many rounds they'd won with Emily not far behind them. Zack was cursing out Lily for bluffing him out of a sure hand while Silena glared darkly at Charlie for managing to one up her two of a kind with a flush. He grinned at her unrepentant as he ate some of his winnings.

Leo was the next one to walk in the mess hall, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He stopped in the doorway and stared at the six cousins in surprise. After noticing the nonchalant air surrounding them he shrugged and pulled up a chair, watching the game while stealing some of Lily's earnings.

Hazel and Frank stumbled upon them next twenty minutes later. Leo had been dealt in and subsequently lost more than he won, much to his dismay.

The two Romans sat on either side of Emily and ate their breakfasts, watching intently after having Ethan explain the rules. Their amusement grew the more they witnessed the game, Hazel giggling hysterically when Charlie gave a surprise swear at Emily when she laid down a full house.

Piper was the next to enter with Jason by her side thirty minutes after Frank and Hazel, both of them laughing when they saw the poker game. Piper asking to be dealt in the next round as she and Jason sat down and began eating.

"I'd be careful Piper," Hazel warned with a playful glint in her eyes. "These guys take it seriously."

Piper grinned back. "So do I, now deal me in."

Ethan obeyed her and redealt the cards. The room was becoming louder as everyone got into the game, Ethan and Zack bickering with each other while Charlie and Emily screwed with each other's cards good-naturedly. Silena and Lily were having a battle inside the game and Silena was losing so far but was making a comeback. Piper and Leo were playfully sniping at each other while Jason, Frank and Hazel laughed and commented in the background.

Then Coach Hedge came in and started hollering about Percy and Annabeth being missing. The mood in the room dropped as everyone rushed out except for the Kids. The four who made the bet grinned at each other and continued playing, quietly explaining to Zack and Emily why they weren't worried.

They snorted and went back to playing, Zack bemoaning the fact that they made the bet without him resulting in Ethan telling him to suck it up. Their bickering resumed to the others amusement.

Ten minutes later everyone gathered in the mess hall again, Frank leading the newly found Percy and Annabeth into the room. Charlie cackled before turning to a sulking Silena, Ethan, and Lily.

"Pay up." He demanded with a cocky grin on his face. Silena grumbled as she stuck her hand in her pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill, Lily and Ethan doing the same.

Charlie's grin grew wider as he pocketed the cash before tipping an imaginary cowboy hat. "Thank you very much."

The three glared at him harder as Leo chuckled at them before muttering "Classic. Classic." at Percy and Annabeth. Hazel fanned her face while Jason and Piper looked relieved.

Coach Hedge however blew up at the couple. "Never in my life!" He bellowed as he waved his bat around, nearly smacking Zack upside the head with it. Zack ducked thankfully. "Against the rules! Irresponsible!"

"Coach," Annabeth sighed, giving her son a look when she caught him snickering. "it was an accident. We were talking, and we fell asleep."

"Besides," Percy cut in, making faces at Lily when he caught her smirking. "you're starting to sound like Terminus."

Silena scrunched her nose up at the mention of the statue. She had never liked him; he was too snooty and arrogant. Then again, most gods were.

Hedge's anger grew. "Is that an insult, Jackson? 'Cause I'll- I'll terminus you, buddy."

Silena saw Percy bite his lip, trying not to laugh. "It won't happen again, Coach. I promise. Now, don't we have other things to discuss?"

Hedge's vein popped out on his neck. "Fine! But I'm watching you, Jackson. And you, Annabeth Chase, I thought you had more sense- "

Silena giggled at Charlie while he laughed so hard he couldn't breathe. Her father cleared his throat and interrupted Hedge before he could get any farther into his rant.

"So grab some food, everybody. Let's get started." Jason said, clapping his hands together.

Everyone grabbed food and listened to Percy describe his dream about Nico. Hazel choked back a sob and hugged Emily to her chest, the twelve year old cuddling in and letting her mother use her for comfort.

"Nico…oh, gods. The seeds." She said, tightly holding Emily, who did not look happy.

"You know what they are?" Annabeth asked, buttering a piece of toast.

Hazel nodded. "He showed them to me once. They're from our stepmother's garden."

"Your step…oh," Percy said, putting his donut down. "You mean Persephone."

"The seeds are a last resort." Hazel explained, running her fingers down Emily's back. "Only children of Hades can eat them. Nico kept some in case he ever got stuck somewhere. But if he's really imprisoned- "

"The giants are trying to lure us," Annabeth said, giving Hazel a soft look. "They're assuming we'll try to rescue him."

"Well, they're right!" Hazel faltered, looking around the table. "Won't we?"

Charlie preemptively stopped Coach Hedge from answering. "Of course we will, Aunt Hazel. He's family, and we _always_ rescue family." He said in a firm tone.

The other five Kids nodded in agreement causing Hazel to relax fractionally.

Annabeth nodded at her son's statement. "How much time do we have?"

"One seed a day," Hazel sounded miserably just talking about the subject. "That's if he puts himself in a death trance."

"A death trance?" Leo frowned, swallowing the last bite of his donut. "That doesn't sound fun."

"It keeps him from consuming all his air." Hazel explained. "Like hibernation or a coma. One seed can sustain him for one day, barely."

"And he has five seeds left," Percy leaned forward, a grim look on his face. "That's five days, including today. The giants must have planned it that way, so we'd have to arrive by July first. Assuming Nico is hidden somewhere in Rome- "

"That's not much time." Piper finished for him, putting a comforting hand on Hazel's shoulder. "We'll find him. At least we know what the lines of the prophecy mean now. ' _Twins snuff out the angel's breath, who holds the key to endless death._ ' Your brother's last name: di Angelo. _Angelo_ is Italian for 'angel'."

"Oh, gods, Nico…" Hazel murmured.

"We'll rescue him," Percy declared, backed up by Charlie and Zack's nods. "We _have_ to. The prophecy says he holds the key to endless death."

"That's right," Piper reassured Hazel, tag-teaming her with Percy. "Hazel, your brother went searching for the Doors of Death in the Underworld, right? He must've found them."

"He can tell us where the doors are," Percy finished their shared pep talk. "and how to close them."

Hazel took a deep breath and released Emily from the death grip she had on her. "Yes. Good."

"Uh…" Leo looked uncomfortable, like what he was about say made him feel bad. "One thing. The giants are expecting us to do this, right? So we're walking into a trap?"

Hazel sent him a betrayed look. "We have no choice!"

Zack scowled and nodded in agreement. Silena and Charlie silently rubbed his shoulders as Leo replied back.

He put his hands up in a 'don't shoot' manner. "Don't get me wrong, Hazel. It's just that your brother, Nico… he knew about both camps, right?"

"Well, yes." Hazel did not look pleased with where the conversation was going. Silena shared a nervous look with Lily as Leo reluctantly finished his thought.

"He's been going back and forth," He sounded slightly hesitant. "and didn't tell either side."

Jason jumped in next, agreeing with his best friend. "You're wondering if we can trust this guy. So am I."

Hazel shot to her feet in outrage. "I don't believe this. He's my _brother_. He brought me back from the Underworld, and you don't want to help him?"

Frank stepped in, calmly laying a hand on her shoulder. "Nobody's saying that." He shot Jason and Leo a _look._ "Nobody had _better_ be saying that."

Charlie cleared his throat pointedly, giving Ethan a nudge. Ethan gave an exasperated sigh but smoothly interjected himself into the 'discussion'.

" _Obviously_ no one is saying that." He said dryly. "But even if they were, it's a sound observation, Aunt Hazel."

She spun around to face him, scowling. "Why is that?"

"We were always taught to question and analyze everything, so that when we were in a fight _we_ would have the upper hand." He boredly responded. "That translates outside of combat as well."

Silena continued the explanation. "From an outsider's perspective, Uncle Nico's actions are suspicious. He knew about both camps, physically _talked_ to Uncle Percy and didn't say a thing to anyone. Sure, he's your brother, but even family can betray you. We learned that the hard way."

The six Kids looked grim as Charlie finished their lecture. " _We_ know for a fact that Uncle Nico didn't but for someone _without_ knowledge of the future, it looks sketchy. Uncle Leo's being a team player, trying to bring up potential threats."

Hazel, though normal appreciative of logic, shook with anger. "How can you say that! Zack, aren't you angry too?" She glanced at nephew with a hopeful glint in her eyes.

Zack just shook his head. "No, because Uncle Leo didn't actually accuse him of anything. Even if he did, I would be fine with it. The smart thing to do is look for threats, that way you'll never be surprised."

Hazel growled in rage and the silverware started trembling. Zack kept his calm expression even as Frank lightly stepped away from his frightening girlfriend.

"Can you stop with that please? I don't feel like getting impaled, thank you very little." Lily snapped after sidestepping away from a wayward fork headed toward her.

Hazel clenched her fists and stalked out of the room. Everyone took a collective deep breath now that the metal around the room stopped shaking.

"Well, that was fun." Ethan said sarcastically, plopping into his chair. Piper frowned at him and the other three who had spoken.

"That was cold, kids. Really cold." She chastised. The four gained offended looks and Zack crossed his arms sulkily.

Charlie defended the four of them. "How was that cold? We were stating the facts!"

"Her brother is dying, your uncle! You could be a little bit nicer!" Piper shot back.

Lily gained a sarcastic look. "No…really?"

"Lillian Esperanza…" Leo warned, frowning at her tone. Lily slouched in her seat and mumbled an apology.

Festus thankfully interrupted the ensuing lecture Annabeth and Piper looked ready to give. Leo tilted his head and listened for a moment.

"That's Festus," He said. "I've got him on autopilot, but we must be nearing Atlanta. I'll have to get up there…uh, assuming we know where to land."

All eyes turned to Percy who blinked at the sudden attention.

Jason raised a sardonic eyebrow. "You're Captain Salt Water. Any ideas from the expert?"

The Jackson family glared in unison causing Jason to flinch a little. Silena felt no sympathy; after all if you were dumb enough to screw with them, you deserved the consequences. Percy reluctantly answered after a glaring at him for a few more seconds.

"I'm not sure," He said "Somewhere central, high up so we can get a good view of the city. Maybe a park with some woods? We don't want to land a warship in the middle of downtown. I doubt even the Mist can cover something that huge."

Leo gave a thumbs up and ran for the stairs. Percy then informed Frank and Charlie they would be coming with. Frank bemoaned the fact that he had been everyone's taxi but Percy explained that he wanted him because he had the blood of Poseidon. Frank looked mollified afterwards.

Percy then tried to suggest Annabeth coming as well but was quickly shut down by Coach Hedge.

"Oh, no." The coach denied. "Young lady, you are _grounded."_

Instantly the Kids burst out laughing, Charlie cackling madly. Annabeth however stared at the satyr in horror. "Excuse me?"

"You and Jackson aren't going _anywhere_ together!" Hedge insisted, to the dismay of Percy and Annabeth and the amusement of the Kids, who were all lying on the ground catching their breath.

" _I'll_ go with Frank and Mr. Sneaky Jackson." He continued as Silena and the others giggled breathlessly, ignoring the half-hearted glare from Percy. "The rest of you guard the ship and make sure Annabeth doesn't break any more rules."

"This," Charlie grinned from his position on the floor, eyes twinkling. "is going to be _so_ much fun."

 **Here you are! Another long ass chapter! Hope you enjoy! Comic out!**

EspeonAuraGirl55- _And mine actually wasn't that bad. I feel sorry for you though. I forgot about the chapter as well. Charlie is very scary well he wants to be; usually Ethan and Silena rein him in though. I don't mind your suggestions being all Disney stars, they are really good! One of Zack's bio parents is a descendant of Hades, you'll find out who later. Asking questions isn't rude at all! When you put it like this, it means you care enough about the story to ask for information to better your understanding of the story. That's not rude at all. And Zack doesn't exactly have healing powers, he's more of just bring a good medic._

Percabeth 8531 _\- Yes, the perspective love interests won't be inside the circle of cousins though._

Electric Raven _\- Hello! I'm glad you like the story! I try my best to make the OC's believable. I'll lay it out for you, hon. Charlie is Percy and Annabeth's son, Silena is Jason and Piper's daughter, Ethan is Reyna's adopted kid, Lily is Leo and Calypso's daughter, Zack is Will and Nico's son, and Emily is Frank and Hazel's daughter. Hope this helps! You're not a horrible reviewer, you were just confused. Glad you liked the chapter! I'll be sure to put your request on my list of things to put in my deleted scenes story!_

Guest (Dude from before)- _A. No, I don't think you're stupid. I do think you need to practice how you want to say things so that they don't come off as rude and-or arrogant though._

 _B. Zack is a Legacy just like all the other Kids. That means he has a demigod mother and a demigod father. Zack's parents died when he was little though so Will and Nico adopted him._

 _C. Yes, he does have powers. I actually plan on doing a chapter later on when Nico is on board that showcases why he has the powers he does. So he does belong in this story. And blood connection isn't everything._

 _D. I actually disagree over the adoption thing. If you're a demigod and your mortal parent died, I think the godly parent would be fine with his or her child being adopted. Provided of course the adopted parents are good people and wouldn't mind the godly parent popping in once in awhile. After all the gods are forbidden from contact with their kids and aren't allowed to meddle in the affairs of mortals, which includes their children to a certain degree._

 _E. I don't think you hate my story at all. I think you dislike aspects of it. And if you had written flame, I would have immediately deleted your review, no questions asked._

 _F. I apologize as well, in fact the only reason I reacted so strongly was because in the original review you didn't ask a single question about the story arc you didn't like, instead you said you stopped reading the instant you realized Zack was Will and Nico's son. Like I said before, if you had reviewed and asked me politely what I was doing with this character, I would have calmly answered back in a polite manner. And the fact that you said this "_ I know it's rude of me to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway _:"_ _irritated me as well. I was raised on the saying 'if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all.' Or at the very least if you can't keep your mouth, say it nicely instead of rudely. But I am very sorry for letting my emotions get the best of me. I hope I didn't hurt your feelings, despite what my reply seemed to say._


	21. Kate and Porky Are Sea Monster Experts

**(Charlie POV)**

Charlie decided he quite liked Esther. She was a tiny, sweet old lady that reminded him of those Grandmas that was surrounded by grandkids all the time. Of course, his grandmother was Sally Jackson and he adored her.

She was the one who got him hooked on blue food and insisted on throwing him and his cousins amazing birthday parties. She had even been okay with becoming everyone's grandma, it seemed like.

Esther reminded him of her with her insistence on calling him 'sweetie'. It also made him a little nostalgic. Though he knew that if they succeeded in their quest he would get to spend a lot more time with his beloved grandma.

Esther was nice enough to drop the four of them off and give them money for a taxi ride back to the Carter Center despite them telling her to keep.

As she drove away Frank asked. "Are all people in Atlanta that nice?"

Hedge didn't look pleased. "I hope not. I can't fight them if they're nice. Let's go beat up some whale sharks. They sound dangerous!"

Charlie exchanged an exasperated look with his father as they walked behind him. He saw Percy glance at the elementary schoolers in line for admission with a brief look of sadness. Charlie bit his lip and nudged him, giving his dad an understanding half smile when he looked at Charlie. Percy sent a faint smile back and ruffled his son's hair before getting back to the task at hand.

"Well, I guess we wait in line. Anybody have money?" Percy asked.

Charlie patted down his pockets and pulled out two twenty dollar bills. He showed them to his dad with a shrug. Percy gave an approving nod before looking at the other two.

Frank checked his pockets as well. "Four denarii from Camp Jupiter. Five dollars Canadian."

Hedge pulled out what he found in his gym short pockets. "Three quarters, two dimes, a rubber band and- score! A piece of celery."

The satyr chewed the celery, much to Charlie's disgust. 'How long has been there?' Charlie thought horrified as he watched Hedge eye the rubber band and change like he was debating on eating them as well.

"Great," Percy deadpanned, a similar expression on his face.

Charlie glanced around wondering how they were going to get in since he was positive twenty dollars and ninety five cents was not going to get them in. He snapped his attention to a woman coming up to them wearing an employee's shirt that had name tag that said 'Kate' on it.

"Ah, VIP visitors!" She said excitedly before snatching the four denarii from Frank's hand. "You have your payment, I see! Excellent!"

"What?" Percy said, shifting slightly in front of Charlie.

Kate glanced at the coins and nodded. "Yes, that's fine. Right this way!"

Percy glanced at the other two. "A trap?"

"Probably." Frank agreed.

Charlie nodded. "Definitely."

"She's not mortal," Hedge said after sniffing the air. "Probably some sort of goat-eating, demigod-destroying fiend from Tartarus."

"No doubt." Percy said, resigned.

"Awesome," Hedge grinned manically making Charlie feel somewhat on edge. "Let's go."

They followed after Kate, Percy leaning over to Charlie and telling him to 'Stay out of trouble; otherwise your mother will kill me.' Charlie simply gave him an innocent smile that Percy eyed distrustfully as Kate led them into the aquarium.

"Right this way," Kate grinned at the father/son duo. "It's a _wonderful_ exhibit. You won't be disappointed. So rare we get VIPs."

Frank fidgeted as he asked. "Uh, you mean demigods?"

Kate winked and put a finger to her lips. "So over here is the cold water experience, with your penguins and beluga whales and whatnot. And over there…well, those are some fish."

Kate did not seem to like the smaller, less dangerous fish. When Frank pointed to fish and asked what it was, Kate replied. "Oh, those are the yellow ones."

Charlie gave a questioning look at Percy, who shrugged in response. They passed the gift shop and Frank stopped to check out the clearance table.

"Take what you want," Kate said.

Frank gave a shocked blink. "Really?"

"Of course! You're a VIP!"

Frank hesitated for a second before stuffing T-Shirts in his backpack. Charlie gave a raised eyebrow as Percy questioned him.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Percy said.

"She said I could," Frank whispered, putting one more T-Shirt in. "Besides, I need more clothes. I didn't pack for a long trip!"

He picked up a snow globe and threw it in. Charlie was startled to realize that it was the same snow globe that had sat on the Zhang's fireplace mantle since before Charlie was born. Frank then picked up a braided cylinder about the size of a candy bar. Again Charlie was startled by this, since those Chinese handcuffs were usually sat next to the snow globe. It was a little freaky.

Frank squinted at what he had in his hand. "What is- ?"

Percy answered. "Chinese handcuffs."

Frank took on an offended look. "How is this Chinese?"

"I don't know," Percy said while Charlie snickered in the background. "That's just what it's called. It's like a gag gift."

Kate called for them. "Come along, boys!"

"I'll show you later," Percy said, clapping a hand on Frank's shoulder as they continued walking.

They walked further into the aquarium, through an acrylic tunnel. Charlie felt his dad shift anxiously next to him and hoped he would calm down.

They emerged in a viewing room awash with blue light. On the other side of a glass wall was a giant aquarium tank, bigger than anything Charlie had ever seen. Dozens of huge fish, including two spotted sharks, each one twice the size of Charlie. They were fat and slow, mouths open that showed no teeth.

"Whale sharks," Hedge cracked his knuckles. "Now we fight to the death!"

Kate giggled. "Silly satyr. Whale sharks are peaceful. They only eat plankton."

Percy and Charlie shared a mutual scowl. How had Kate known about Hedge being a satyr? The nicer Kate acted the more wary Charlie became of her. He could tell his father felt the same way. Hedge sadly seemed unaware and continued with his rant.

"Peaceful sharks?" the coach scowled. "What's the point of that?"

Frank was peering at a plaque next to the tank. "The only whale sharks in captivity in the world. That's kind of amazing."

"Yes, and these are small," Kate smiled. "You should see some of my other babies out in the wild."

"Your babies?" Frank asked warily.

Kate's smile turned sharp causing a chill to go down Charlie's spine. He _really_ didn't want to meet this lady's 'babies'. Percy seemed to agree as he hastened to move the conversation along.

"So, Kate," Percy said. "we're looking for a guy…I mean a god, named Phorcys. Would you happen to know him?"

Charlie hadn't expected Kate to snort and say. " _Know_ him? He's my brother. That's where we're going sillies. The _real_ exhibits are right through here."

She waved a hand at the far wall. It began to ripple, and another tunnel came into view, leading through a purple lit tank.

Kate strolled inside. Charlie and Percy gave reluctant looks but followed at a sedated pace, Frank and Coach Hedge bringing up the rear.

The moment they entered, Hedge whistled. "Now _that's_ interesting."

Swimming overhead was multicolored jellyfish the size of trash cans, every single one with hundreds of tentacles that looked like barbed wire. One jellyfish had a limp looking ten-foot-long swordfish in its grasp, slowly wrapping its tendrils tighter and tighter around its prey.

Kate beamed happily at the coach. "You see? Forget the whale sharks! And there's much more."

Charlie didn't want to see what 'more' looked like, but he didn't get a choice. Kate led them into a larger chamber, lined with more aquariums. On one wall, a glowing red sign depicted a sentence: DEATH IN THE DEEP SEAS! _Sponsored by Monster Donut._

Charlie watched Percy squint at the sign. "Monster Donut?"

"Oh, yes," Kate said pleasantly. "One of our corporate sponsors."

Percy didn't look happy. Charlie didn't either; he had heard _things_ about that corporation. His dad had fought a Hydra once because of them.

Percy glanced at a tank filled with hippocampi lethargically drifting around and muttered. "This isn't right."

Charlie nodded in agreement. It was horrifying to see, the poor creatures looked so drugged up they probably couldn't even feel anything.

Then he felt his father shudder in anger next to him and growl at Kate. "How can you keep them here?"

Charlie curiously turned to look at what had set his father off and felt sucker punched by what he saw. At the bottom of a much smaller tank, two Nereids sat cross-legged, facing each other, playing a game of Go Fish. They looked incredibly bored. Their long green hair drifted around their faces with their eyes half closed.

White hot anger shot through him and he whipped around to glare at Kate along with his father as she responded to the question.

"I know," She sighed, much to the green eyed boy's ire. "They aren't very interesting. We tried to teach them, but with no luck, I'm afraid. I think you'll like this tank over here much better."

Percy protested but Kate ignored him.

"Holy mother of goats!" Coach shouted. "Look at these beauties!"

He was staring in awe at two thirty foot long sea serpents, with glowing blue scales and powerful jaws. In tank right beside it, a squid the size of an eighteen wheeler, with a beak like a huge bolt cutter, was peeking at the from its cement cave.

A third tank held a dozen humanoid creatures with smooth seal bodies, canine like faces and human hands. They sat on the sand at the bottom of the tank, building things out of Legos, seeming as loopy as the Nereids.

"Are thoses-?" Percy choked on the question.

"Telkhines?" Kate finished. "Yes! The only ones in captivity."

Percy looked as horrified as Charlie felt. "But they fought for Kronos in the last war! They're dangerous!"

Kate rolled her eyes as if he was stupid. "Well, we couldn't call it 'Death in the Deep Seas' if these exhibits weren't dangerous. Don't worry. We keep them well sedated."

Charlie continued to worry.

As did Frank as he asked. "Sedated? Is that legal?"

Kate ignored him. She kept walking through the room, pointing at other exhibits. Charlie wanted to stop the tour and get out of Atlanta. He had an uneasy feeling about this whole building.

"And these sea monsters," Kate narrated in front of them. "can grow five hundred feet long in the deep ocean. They have thousands of teeth. And these? Their favorite food is demigod-?"

"Demigod?" Frank sounded alarmed.

Charlie just thought it was so _typical_ that its favorite food was demigod, because why not?

Kate continued. "But they eat whales or small boats, too." Kate turned to Percy and blushed. "Sorry…I'm _such_ a monster nerd! I'm sure you know all this being the son of Poseidon, and all."

Charlie's dad simply eyed her with suspicion.

"Who _are_ you?" Percy demanded. "Does Kate stand for something?"

"Kate?" She looked slightly confused. "Oh…no, it's-"

"Hello!" A new voice said, bouncing around the room.

Charlie whipped around and stared at the new person. He was a small man wearing a wet suit in several, eye burning shades of green. Glittery silver words printed down the side read: PORKY'S FOLLIES. A headset microphone was clamped over his greasy hair. His eyes were milky blue, one set higher than the other, and though he smiled, he didn't seem friendly.

Charlie's spidey-senses were tingling as he stared at this _individual_. He was fairly certain shit was about to hit the fan. Charlie hoped he ducked quickly enough.

"Visitors," 'Porky' said. "Welcome to Phorcys's Follies!"

Charlie decided he did not like Phorcys's Follies. He was pretty sure his dad agreed.

The dude swept his arms through the air, as if directing their attention. Nothing happened.

"Curse it," He grumbled. "Telkhines, that's your cue! I wave my hands, and you leap energetically in your tank, do a synchronized double spin, and land in pyramid formation. We practiced this!"

The sea demons ignored him, to Porky's annoyance. Charlie felt no sympathy for the wet-suit wearing man. He also decided to mentally call him glitter boy.

Coach Hedge moved closer and sniffed his glittery outfit. " _Nice_ outfit."

Sadly, the satyr said it genuinely instead of sarcastically. Charlie didn't trust the goat's fashion sense anyway.

"Thank you!" Porky said happily. "I am Phorcys."

Frank shifted his weight. "Why does your suit say _Porky?"_

Glitter Boy snarled. "Stupid uniform company! They can't anything right."

Kate gestured to her name tag. "I told them my name was _Keto_. They misspelled it as _Kate._ My brother…well, now he's Porky."

"I am not!" He snapped. "I'm not even a little porky. The name doesn't work with Follies, either. What kind of show is called Porky's Follies? But you folks don't want to hear us complain. Behold the wondrous majesty of the killer squid."

He gestured dramatically toward the tank. This time, fireworks went off in front of it, sending geysers of golden sparkles. Music sounded from the speakers. The lights got turned all the way up to ten and revealed…an empty tank.

Charlie wasn't sure whether to be happy about that or not. Porky certainly wasn't.

"Curse it!" He yelled again.

He then turned to his sister. "Keto, training the squid was _your_ job. Juggling, like I said. Maybe a little bit of flesh-rendering for the finale. Is that too much to ask?"

"He's shy," Keto defended the missing squid. "Besides, each of his tentacles has sixty-two razorlike barbs."

She looked at Frank. "Did you know the monstrous squid is the only beast known to eat demigods whole, armor and all, without getting indigestion? It's true!"

Charlie wasn't sure he liked how she talked about these creatures, he felt like he was watching Animal Planet: Terrifying Monster Addition. It sounded like a terrible show to him.

"Keto!" Glitter Boy glared. "You'll bore our guests with so much information. Less education, more entertainment! We've discussed this."

"But- "

"No buts! We're here to present 'Death in the Deep Seas!' Sponsored by Monster Donut!"

The words reverberated through the room. Lights flashed, nearly blinding Charlie. Smoke rolled up from the floor, making donut-shaped rings that smelled faintly like actual donuts.

Charlie blinked rapidly to get rid of the spots in his eyes as Porky directed them out of the room.

"Hold it." Percy said firmly, glancing at Charlie worriedly.

Glitter Boy's smile fell. "Yes?"

"You're a sea god, aren't you? Son of Gaea?" Percy asked.

Phorcys sighed dramatically. "Five thousand years, and I'm still known as Gaea's little boy. Never mind that I'm one of the oldest sea gods in existence. Far older than _your_ upstart father, by the way. I'm the god of hidden depths! Lord of watery terrors! Father of a thousand monsters! But, no…nobody knows me. I make one little mistake, supporting the Titans in their war, and I'm exiled from the ocean. To Atlanta, of all places!"

"We thought the Olympians meant _Atlantis,_ " Keto said. "Their idea of a joke, I guess, sending us here."

Charlie looked at her. "And you? You're a goddess?"

"Keto, yes," She smiled at him. Charlie didn't smile back.

Keto then explained that sea was the goddess of sea monsters and giant sea life before telling them about sea serpents and their eating habits. Poor Frank looked sick to his stomach. Coach however chatted with the goddess until Phorcys interrupted them.

"Stop!" He yelled. "You're ruining the show! Now, witness our Nereid gladiators fight to the death!"

A disco ball descended into the Nereid tank, making the water light up with multiple colors. Two swords fell to the bottom and laid in the sand, The Nereid simply ignored them and continued playing Go Fish.

"Curse it!" came from Porky a fourth time.

Charlie decided now would be a good time to slink off and do some detective work as Keto took Coach Hedge on his own tour.

Percy and Frank didn't notice him vanish back down the way they came. Charlie walked through the first room and ducked into a door he had noticed earlier. The only reason he had was because there was a small sign, barely noticeable, that read: SUPPLY CLOSET, EMPOYEES ONLY.

Charlie strives to break rules and go places he didn't belong, which meant he had to at least see the room. It was just a supply closet, right? Wrong.

Charlie stared in shock at the room as he registered what was in front of him. An entire wall covered with pictures of him and his cousins, siblings included. Pictures that he didn't remember being taken.

One showed him at ten sitting cross-legged on the ground with his dad in front of him, teaching him sword fighting from the looks of it.

Another was of Ethan walking down the street, pushing a stroller in front of him, the twins most likely inside it.

A third caught his attention though and he stared at it in horror. It showed the Zoe, Louis, Gabby and Gemma with gags in their mouths sitting on a stone floor, hands and feet bound as Andre and Alejandro were caught mid cry, fat tears streaming down their faces.

Charlie snapped a hand out, ripping the photograph from the wall and sprinted out the room, retracing his steps, headed back to his father.

Murderous rage writhed through him as he tore through the hallways, thinking one thing and one thing only.

Someone was going to pay for this.

 **Ooooo I wonder who did it? How's Charlie going to change the rest of the Atlanta trip? How is the family as a whole going to react to the picture?**

 **Find out next time on Fated to Save! Comic out!**

RosettaQueen20- _Thank you! That's okay; I figured you would review at some point. I can't wait to get to that point too! I have so many plot bunnies, it's hard to keep track of. I don't mind the excitement at all! It gets me hyped! And I spend most of my time seated at my laptop, writing this story. I don't get out much, trust me._

Didi – _Thanks! I think Percy would be proud that his son took a game that had caused Percy and Sally great pain and turned it into a family game that they all had a good time playing or watching. And I'm totally going to include the 'dad tax' later on. You just watch out for it. I love that you share things with me! It makes me happy! I had a great weekend too! I hope you had one._

EspeonAuraGirl55- _Yeah, it was fun to write it. I probably should have explained Zack earlier, huh? *Rubs neck in embarrassment* you know now though, right? Heh. It would have been hilarious if Hedge had found the two of them. And Charlie does get to see the Koi Fish Fiasco, don't worry. That's my favorite scene involving Frank, ever._


	22. Old Enemies and New Mysteries

**I just want to say that you are all amazing! As of when I'm writing this, this story has 19 favorites and 31 follows, as well as 59 reviews. That's insane! Thank you all so much!**

 **I want to shout out these people for being awesome and for following and favoriting this story!**

Annabeth- JacksonChase, Bone Boy, BubblePoP1300, CrazyLich79, CursedWeb33, DiAngelo646, Elpis21, GallagherGirlx, LiValdez1, Lutz0508, M.J. Lyte, MemeReader, MidgleyMacbeth, Percabeth 8531, RareDarkgon, RosettaQueen20, Sheniffer, St4yG01d, EspeonAuraGirl55, Stormwreckin, THE green Blob, VibiK, brownielocks57, camo990, chiquislover, dioVv, emenem3211, , .9, thesweetscentofbooks, timbo8, viper456, Phoenix X 2, ZNasty, newtown54

 **Thanks to all of the above for supporting this story! I love you guys! Special thanks to** RosettaQueen20, EspeonAuraGirl55, and Didi **for being total rockstars and reviewing damn near every chapter, sometimes twice! Love you three!**

 **(Charlie POV)**

Charlie was sprinting as hard as he could through the halls, on his way to his father. He didn't get very far when a body tackled him from the side.

Slammed into the wall, Charlie gasped as his head banged off of it. Stars danced behind his eyes as he instinctively kneed his attacker in the stomach. The attacker swore and jerked away.

Charlie continued with his assault, throwing a kick at the person's knee and giving an upper cut. The attacker, a male from what Charlie could see, stumbled away.

Charlie followed, pulling out Riptide and uncapping it. The guy pulled out his own sword that was hanging by his belt and lunged for him.

Charlie countered his attacks, looking for an opening. He found one a second later that seemed strangely familiar. Still he took advantage of it, knocking the guy to the ground.

He quickly put the guy into a strangle hold, wrapping left arm around his neck, using his right hand as support. He followed that up by wrapping his legs around the guy's abdomen, trapping his arms to his side.

The guy bucked and kicked, unable to get out of the hold. Charlie tensed his muscles and waited the guy out, finally getting a good look at him.

He wore a black field jacket with a dark grey hoodie underneath with the hood pulled over his head, black jeans, and black steel toed combat boots.

Charlie moved his right hand and tugged the hood down, sucking in a sharp breath when he saw who it was.

Hugo Moore, a son of Ares. Payton's right hand man and Charlie's old 'nemesis', Hugo had constantly hounded Charlie for fights, wanting to prove that he could kick the son of the 'Heroes of Olympus' ass.

Charlie had never taken him up on it before, always managing to avoid him. At least until Hugo decided to piss him off by talking shit about his cousins and little sister.

Charlie had snapped after he called Lily a whore and a waste of space, resulting in Charlie putting Hugo in the infirmary with three broken ribs, a concussion and a fractured wrist.

Hugo's resentment obviously grew. Charlie had been punished for doing it, but Hugo never let it go. When he heard what Payton had been doing to them, he had immediately joined her along with his best friend Atlas Pierce, who bizarrely enough was a son of Aphrodite and didn't like fighting at all. Still the two of them became Payton's henchmen and began making Charlie's life as horrible as possible before disappearing with Payton when she ditched camp.

Charlie growled lowly. "What the hell are you doing here, Moore?"

"None of your business, Jackson!" Hugo snapped back, kicking his legs up and kneeing Charlie in the face.

Charlie flinched back, hand flying to his face. He felt around and winced, his nose was broken for sure.

Still, Charlie gritted his teeth and focused on the fight, ducking under Hugo's right hook. Charlie grabbed his outstretched arm and held it, pushing his elbow to the breaking point.

Hugo howled and slapped his left hand around, trying to get out of his grip. Charlie held fast and continued his questioning.

"Why are you here, Moore?" Charlie yelled. "What did you do to the little ones?"

"We're gonna make you pay, Jackson! You and your entire family!" Hugo screamed, kicking him in the stomach.

Charlie stumbled, giving Hugo the opportunity to break out of his grip and sprint away. Charlie made after him, screaming at him to stop.

Hugo ducked through a doorway and closed it behind him. Charlie swore and threw his shoulder into the door, pounding his fist on it when it didn't give.

"Fuck!" He screamed, punching it one last time, bloodying his knuckles.

He put his head on the door and took a couple deep breaths, reining his emotions in. He shuddered in anger before pushing off the door and ran back to his dad, pushing his legs as fast as they could go.

'What the hell did Hugo mean by 'making us pay' exactly? And why the fuck did he say 'we'?' Charlie thought furiously as he took a sharp corner, reentering the room he had last seen his father in. He scowled as he saw that he and Frank were no longer in the room.

He glanced around and spotted a red sign above a tunnel that hadn't been there when he left. He stalked through and blinked at the scene he happened upon.

Percy and Frank were in a glass bubble that had seemed to appear out of nowhere. Percy was pounding on the glass and yelling. "We won't cooperate, Phorcys!"

Glitter Boy chuckled. "Oh, I'm optimistic. If you won't fight each other at first, no problem! I can send in fresh sea monsters every day. After you get used to the food here, you'll be properly sedated and will follow directions. Believe me, you'll come to love your new home."

The dome over Percy's head cracked and began to leak water. Charlie darted to his left and hid behind a little nook he found, peeking his head out just enough to still see what was going on.

"I'm the son of Poseidon! You can't imprison me in water. It's where I'm strongest." Percy said firmly.

Charlie couldn't help but face-palm as his dad said that. 'Really, Dad? Really?' Charlie thought, watching Porky laugh.

"What a coincidence! It's also where _I'm_ strongest. This tank is specially designed to contain demigods. Now, have fun, you two. I'll see you at feeding time!"

And with that the dome caved in.

 _OoOoOoOo_

If Charlie wasn't in such a bad mood he would be on the floor, laughing till he cried. Still a rush of amusement rolled through him as he watched his uncle turn into a goldfish, a giant koi to be exact.

'Uncle Frank, you are _never_ living this down.' Charlie thought, allowing a couple chuckles to slip through as he slinked out of his hiding spot and walked to the newly formed tank.

He stopped a few feet away from it and waited for his dad to notice him.

 _Dude._ Charlie suddenly heard in his dad's voice _. A goldfish?_

 _I freaked. We were talking about goldfish, so it was on my mind. Sue me._ Frank answered.

 _I'm having a telepathic conversation with a giant koi,_ Percy grumbled. _Great. Can you turn into something more…useful?_

Absolute silence. Charlie was truly fighting hard not to giggle now.

 _Sorry._ Frank said, incredibly embarrassed. _I'm stuck. That happens sometimes when I panic._

Percy sighed dramatically. Charlie snorted and joined the conversation.

 _This is just sad to look at._ Charlie said.

Percy's head snapped up and around, staring at his son in shock. Then his expression shifted to outrage.

 _Where did you go? Why is your nose bleeding? Damn it, I told you to stay out of trouble!_ Percy yelled at his son.

 _I'll tell you later, right now we need to get you two out of there._ Charlie said, hoping to redirect his father. It thankfully worked.

 _Fine_ , Percy grumbled before giving Charlie a look. _But when we get out of here, you're telling us everything._

Charlie gave a nod. Percy looked slightly mollified by his agreement as he turned back to Frank, the koi.

 _You're absolutely sure you can't change into something better suited for this?_ Percy about begged.

Frank didn't give him the answer he wanted. _Sorry Percy._

 _Don't worry about it._ Charlie told him as he eyed the tank, uncapping Riptide. _I'm sure Dad and I can you both out of there._

Charlie brought up his sword and slammed the hilt into the glass. A small, almost miniscule crack appeared. Charlie scowled at it, unhappy with the results of his break out attempt.

Percy tried it as well from his side and didn't even get a scratch. The Jackson men scowled as one and tried to control the water together, but it was under Porky's control.

Percy looked dejected while Charlie glared at the glass and thought furiously about how to break it. Just as he was deciding to punch it till it broke, Frank yelled at them.

 _Look!_ Frank said urgently.

Charlie twisted to look behind him and widened his eyes when he saw Coach Hedge and Keto making their way to them, seemingly blissfully unaware that the three males were in front of them.

Charlie silently cursed and darted back to his little nook, ducking away from view.

 _Charlie, what are you doing?_ Percy asked, alarmed.

Charlie responded. _If Keto sees me, I'm gonna get thrown in there with you. I'd like to avoid that if possible._

 _How are we gonna get the coach to notice us?_ Frank said hurriedly.

 _I'm on it._ Charlie said, fishing around in his pocket for something to throw. He pulled Riptide in pen form and with a shrug, hurled it at his dad and uncle's fish tank.

It bounced off harmlessly but made a quiet _tink_ when it hit it, loud enough for the satyr to turn curiously and stare at the tank in shock.

Charlie was a little impressed though; Hedge threw on a calm mask, pointed at the ceiling and screamed. "Gods of Olympus, what is that?" before karate-kicking her on the back of the head after taking his fake leg off. Keto fell like a sack of bricks to the floor.

Charlie rushed back out of his hiding place as Hedge yelled at his dad.

"What are you doing in there, Jackson?" Hedge demanded.

Charlie answered for him. "Phorcys trapped them in there. He's gonna keep them as entertainment while you and I will most likely be killed. Gaea put him up to it, I assume."

"Where's Frank?" Hedge questioned, spinning around to face Charlie.

Charlie's lips twitched and he pointed at the giant koi. Hedge stared before shaking his head, presumably at Frank's choice of aquatic animal.

Percy began pointing frantically behind them and Charlie whipped around, seeing Keto moving slightly. He quickly kicked the goddess in the face as hard as he could, knocking her unconscious again.

Percy chastised him. _We need to get out of here, don't worry about her._

Charlie begrudgingly nodded. _I think the best course of action would be for all four of us to hit the glass at the same time._

Percy agreed and told back to human. Charlie relayed the plan to Hedge and the four of them got into position.

"One, two, three!" Charlie said while counting his fingers down.

Frank turned human and shoved his shoulder into the glass while Hedge roundhouse kicked. Charlie once again brought Riptide's hilt down on the glass with all his strength and helped his dad take control of the water and _pushed_ with all his might.

The glass cracked, fractures appearing all over the glass wall, before suddenly shattering and a wall of water slammed into Charlie and the coach.

Laid out on the floor, Charlie scrambled to get up as Hedge questioned his dad.

"Pan's pipes, Jackson! What were you _doing_ in there?" Hedge hollered, spitting out salt water.

"Phorcys! Trap! Run!" Percy yelled as he began sprinting out of the room, dragging Charlie behind him.

Charlie stumbled briefly before catching up to his dad, wanting to get as far away as possible from Atlanta. Frank and Hedge were right on their heels as they tore through the aquarium, alarms blaring loudly.

"Percy Jackson!" Phorcys boomed over the sound system. They ignored it completely and continued running.

They flew through the mortal's entrance and were out the door, still sprinting. Charlie squeezed his dad's hand that gripped his tightly and made a mental promise to help him get those captive creatures to safety.

Percy squeezed back but kept his gaze firmly in front of him as they navigated through the mass of bodies on the sidewalk blocking their way.

Charlie swallowed harshly, thinking about what had transpired in that aquarium and shivered slightly.

He was most definitely going to have nightmares tonight.

 **Well, well, well. I wonder what's gonna happen? Guess we'll find out later. Hope you guys liked this chapter and the new character addition as Hugo will be a big part of the story later. Let me know in the reviews!**

 **What's going to happen with Hugo? What does he mean by making the whole family pay? Does Payton have anything to do with this?**

 **Find out next time on Fated to Save! Comic out!**

RosettaQueen20 _\- I have an entire arc planned out that will show you guys just how ruthless Charlie can be when it comes to protecting his family. Also, I'm all about foreshadowing! I think it's an amazing way to progress the story and give readers hints without giving everything away. And Charlie definitely holds back in regard to how scary he can be when he wants to be._

EspeonAuraGirl55- _You'll find out soon enough. As for your question, all will be revealed soon. And Charlie's too smart for that._

Didi- _Oh, sweetie. My heart just might burst from the sweet things you say. You are amazing and I wouldn't love doing this half as much if I didn't get your reviews. Honest, they mean so much to me and so do you despite not ever technically meeting you._


	23. Charleston Planning and Power Explaining

**(Charlie POV)**

Charlie had never been so out of breath before in his life. Tumbling on to the floor of the _Argo ll,_ Charlie laid there gasping for air right beside his father who looked in worse shape than him. Coach Hedge followed them while Frank staggered his way downstairs to look for Leo.

Zack and Ethan who had been sparring on the deck gaped at them. Zack snapped out of it just long enough to question them.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" He demanded.

Percy waved at Charlie to talk. He groaned but found the strength to sit up and explain what happened.

"We went to the aquarium, it turned out to be a trap by Gaea. Dad and Uncle Frank got tossed into a fish tank, Hedge discussed sea monsters with Kate, and Porky apparently said something about Charleston ."

Zack and Ethan continued their silent staring. Charlie couldn't summon the energy to care. Annabeth, Hazel, Emily and Frank came upstairs and stuttered to a halt right beside them. Percy held Annabeth's hand weakly and stayed quiet, still breathing heavily.

Suddenly Leo, Piper, Jason, Lily and Silena came running up the stairs.

"What? What?" Leo cried, waving around the half-eaten grilled cheese in his hand. "Can't a guy even take a lunch break? What's wrong?"

"Followed!" Frank gasped, hands on his knees and panting.

"Followed by _what?_ " Jason asked.

"I don't know!" Frank panted out. "Whales? Sea monsters? Maybe Kate and Porky?"

Annabeth looked like she wanted to strangle Frank for his unhelpful explanation. "That makes absolutely no sense. Leo, you'd better get us out of here."

Leo put his sandwich between his teeth, grabbed Lily and ran for the helm.

Soon the ship was gliding through the air and Charlie finally got his heartbeat under control again. Percy, Frank and Hedge recovered soon after Charlie did.

"Charleston," Percy said, hobbling around tiredly. "Set course for Charleston."

"Charleston?" Jason looked like he had been there before, Charlie noted. "What exactly did you find in Atlanta?"

Frank opened his backpack and pulled out his nick-knacks. "Some peach preserves. A couple of T-shirts. A snow globe and, um, these not really Chinese handcuffs."

Annabeth twitched and forced herself to breath. Charlie wearily scooted behind Silena who gave him a half amused, half annoyed look.

"How about you start from the top- of the story, not the backpack." Annabeth glared.

They gathered around Leo and Lily so that they could hear. Zack disappeared for a second and reappeared with his med-kit. Charlie sat cross legged on the ground while Zack cleaned his wounds, painfully resetting his broken nose.

Percy and Frank took turns telling the story, with Hegde interrupting with declarations like: "That was awesome!" or "Then I kicked her in the head!"

Charlie waited for them to talk a little more about the bounty on their heads and Charleston before clearing his throat. Everyone turned to look at him.

"That's not the only thing that happened in Atlanta." Charlie said grimly.

Percy nodded his head. "Right, you disappeared for like ten minutes and came back with a broken nose and a bloody hand."

Annabeth looked worried. "What happened?"

Charlie sighed. "I slipped away to go check out an employees only door I had noticed on the way in. The only reason I did is because I noticed the Mist surrounding it, I thought it was like a information room or something."

"What was it?" Zack asked, concerned. He had finished cleaning Charlie's wounds and was now lounging against Jason's leg. The son of Jupiter gave him an amused look but let him stay where he was.

"Pictures of us Kids. Ones that I don't remember any of us taking _at all._ And then I looked closer and found this one." Charlie pulled out the picture of their siblings.

Ethan and Silena sucked in sharp breaths while Lily and Emily gasped. Zack roared and yelled. "Who the hell took them!?"

"Payton, I think." Charlie answered, glaring darkly at the photo.

The parents got a good look at it too and rage came across every single one of their faces.

"How dare they!" Hazel growled.

"Charlie, why do you think Payton did it?" Ethan asked angrily, staring at him.

Charlie scowled. "Because I ran into Hugo in the aquarium. I was running back toward Dad when he body-checked me out of nowhere. We fought for a little bit before he told me 'We're going to make you pay. You and your entire family.' We fought a little more and than he bolted. I tried to follow him but he knew the aquarium better than me."

"Payton never goes anywhere without Hugo, or Atlas for that matter." Silena said grimly, eyeing the picture with distaste that masked a all consuming rage Charlie knew all too well.

Zack continued her thought process. "Which means they're going to show up again sooner or later, especially if they have are siblings."

Charlie nodded in agreement. "We need to start planning, now."

Annabeth cut in. "I remember you said her parents were on the Titans side in the Second Titan War, right?"

The cousins all nodded their heads, various levels of curiosity on their faces. Annabeth looked like she had figured something out that she didn't like.

"Could she be on Gaea's side?" Annabeth asked, focusing on Silena and Charlie.

The two shared a look and nodded, Silena verbally answering.

"I wouldn't put it past her. Payton was never really the most stable of people." Silena said hesitantly, glancing worriedly at Ethan.

Ethan caught the look and rolled his eyes. "What she means to say is Payton has more than a couple screws loose. That bitch would kill every single one of us if she felt like it, wouldn't even bat an eyelid at the idea either."

Lily, Emily, Zack and Charlie nodded grimly while Silena inclined her head towards Ethan, conceding to his explanation.

"So she's a threat." Jason stated, looking at his daughter.

Lily gave a sarcastic laugh. "Oh, she is way more than that. In a fighting sense, I'd put her in the same weight class as Charlie, who's the best fighter out of all six of us. In a intellectual sense, I'd say she could go head to head with Aunt Annabeth, with it depending on it being a matter of who's more lucky to win between the two."

Everybody had somber expressions on their faces. Charlie sighed and rolled to his feet, stretching his sore muscles.

"That's not the main thing I'm worried about though. Mine is what are they going to do with our siblings? They're all powerful in their own right, so what's Payton going to do with that in her grasp?" Charlie said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Understanding dawned on Silena, from the expression Charlie saw on her face. "You're worried she's going to use their powers against us."

Charlie gave a nod but Frank frowned in confusion.

"How would she do that? They're just kids, Louis isn't even seven yet." He said, looking worriedly at the photo.

Ethan shook his head. "Kids with the powers of their parents, some of whom are in a weight class all of their own. For example, Uncle Percy can summon hurricanes when he needs to and has had The Curse of Achilles. Even if he doesn't have the invulnerability or strength anymore, it does have affects."

"Like what?" Annabeth asked, looking interested and slightly concerned.

Ethan shrugged. "Like Charlie for instance, when he got stabbed in the shoulder he should have been down for _at least_ a day. Instead, he's off traipsing through Kansas highway's and shrugging off lightning bolts from Uncle Jason who isn't exactly a slouch, possessed or not."

"And that's because of the curse?" Piper inquired.

Ethan nodded. "The Apollo cabin ran tests on him once and confirmed it. He's got enhanced speed and strength with a faster healing response time."

"So, he's like a super hero?" Leo asked, making his debut in the conversation.

Emily made an _eh_ motion. "Think a weaker, not as buff Captain America."

Charlie scowled at her. "Really? You're going there?"

"Sorry," She muttered, not looking apologetic in the least. Charlie harrumphed but let it go.

"Anyway," Ethan smoothly transitioned the conversation back to the previous matter. "that's just Charlie. Silena can make tornadoes on whim if she wants to and send people flying twenty feet back. She also has a limited ability at charmspeak."

"Oh, wow." Piper blinked in shock.

Silena simply nodded when she got questioning looks from her and Jason. They stared at her in surprise until she glared at the in embarrassment, prompting them to stop.

"Lily's nickname is Firecracker because she has a tendency to quite literally explode in a blaze of fire and attack whoever pissed her off," Ethan continued explaining. "because who her mom is, her power over fire is stronger then Uncle Leo's though not by much."

"Emily is an up-and-coming enchantress, with one of Hecate's kids mentoring her back in the future. She's also expected to be one of the more powerful shapeshifters the Zhang family has had. Zack can keep with Uncle Nico's shadow traveling, which is exhausting by the way. He also can raise up to a hundred skeleton warriors if he absolutely has to."

"As for me, I can give my strength away as well as control people's emotions just enough to keep them from drowning them and help them stay focused. And if I desperately need to, I have the ability to borrow strength and other people's abilities." Ethan finished.

The adults all looked shocked, staring at their kids in a completely new light. Percy made a strangled noise.

"How are you this powerful?" He asked, staring at Charlie.

"Hecate and Athena," Charlie said. "they knew we would need every advantage we could get over the Gaea and the giants. So, the two of them unlocked our 'hidden potential' for the quest."

"Wait," Hazel said, confused. "so, you normally wouldn't be this powerful?"

Silena shook her head and answered. "If we had been allowed to naturally develop our powers, I'd say we would be at the level we are now at maybe, twenty? And that's if we worked our asses off. If we fix Tartarus and our future never comes to pass, in the new one we're going to be maybe half as powerful as we are now. That would make us stronger that the average demi-god but much weaker than say Clarisse or Uncle Percy."

"You can beat Clarisse?" Percy asked, startled.

"Silena, Ethan, Lily and I can by ourselves while the Terrors are more than capable if they work together." Charlie told him, before gaining a thoughtful expression.

"The only time any of us have beat you was when Ethan, Zack, Emily and I were working together and that was after you had already taken out Silena and Lily." Charlie informed him. "Of course, you were a lot stronger and better at combat than you are now. Back then you had twenty three years of combat experience and training under your belt, right now you only have five and a half."

Percy looked a little disgruntled at the unintended dig at his fighting abilities but ignored it.

"So, in the new future, you guys will be less powerful than you are now." Piper stated instead of asking. They all nodded once again. "Well that's good to know."

Charlie shrugged. "If we succeed, everyone will live and Camp Jupiter will still be standing. I'll gladly give up my powers for that to happen."

His cousins all nodded in agreement and Silena redirected the conversation back towards Charleston.

"So, Charleston," Silena said. "we need to go there, find a map to something that can heal the rift between Romans and Greeks. Dad, I think I remember you telling me something about you and Aunt Reyna going there once, is that right?"

Jason nodded his head. "Yeah, we went on a quest to salvage Imperial gold weapons from the C.S.S _Hunley."_

"The what?" Piper asked, confused.

"Whoa!" Leo excitedly said. "That's the first successful military submarine. From the Civil War. I always wanted to see that."

Ethan had a thoughtful look on his face. "Wasn't that designed by Roman demigods?"

Jason gave him a surprised glance but answered him. "Yes, it was. It held a secret stash of Imperial gold torpedoes, at least until we rescued them and brought them back to Camp Jupiter."

Hazel looked displeased at that tidbit of information as she crossed her arms.

"So the Romans fought on the Confederate side. As a girl whose grandmother was a slave, can I just say…not cool?"

Jason did the 'I surrender' motion. "I personally wasn't alive back then. And it wasn't _all_ Greeks on one side and _all_ Romans on the other side. But, yes, not cool. Sometimes demigods make bad choices." Here he looked sheepishly at Hazel. "Like sometimes we're too suspicious, and speak without thinking."

Hazel stared at him as Jason elbowed Leo in the side.

"Ow!" He yelped before catching on. "I mean, yeah…bad choices. Like not trusting people's brothers who, you know, might need saving. Hypothetically speaking."

Hazel regarded them with a look before nodding. "Fine. Back to Charleston. Are you saying we should check the submarine again?"

Jason shrugged. "Well…I can think of _two_ places in Charleston we might search. The museum where they keep the _Hunley_ is one. It has a lot of relics from the Civil War. A map could be hidden in one. I know the layout, I could lead a team inside."

"I'll go," Leo said. "That sounds cool."

Jason gave him a nod before turning to look at Frank. "You should come too, Frank. We might need you. Zack, you as well."

Zack gave a nod as Frank looked shocked. "Why? Not like I was much good at that aquarium."

"You did fine," Percy disagreed with him. Charlie backed up his dad by nodding at what he said. "It took all four of us to break that glass."

"Besides, you're a child of Mars," Jason further explained his reasoning. "The ghosts of defeated causes are bound to serve you. And the museum in Charleston has _plenty_ of Confederate ghosts. We'll need you to keep them in line. That's why I want to bring Zack along, the two of you will be more then capable of handling them."

Frank swallowed harshly but agreed. "Okay, sure." He then frowned at the Chinese handcuffs his fingers were caught in. "Um, how do you-"

Leo chuckled warmly at him. Man, you've never seen those before? There's a simple trick to getting out."

Frank tried again with no luck. Even Hazel was trying not to laugh now.

Charlie stifled his laughter and took a step toward Frank. "Here, let me- "

Before Charlie could finish Frank disappeared, only for iguana to be in his place, lying on the floor with the handcuffs right beside him.

"Well done, Frank Zhang," Leo dryly stated. "That is exactly how people beat Chinese handcuffs. They turn into iguanas."

Everybody burst out laughing, unable to hold it in anymore. Charlie after a minute let his laughter fade and clapped Frank on the shoulder after he turned back to human.

"I promise I'll show you the real solution later, Uncle Frank." Charlie chuckled.

Frank gave an embarrassed smile. "Thanks. Anyway, the museum is one place to search. But, uh, Jason, you said there were two?"

Jason's smile faded at the question and Charlie pulled his attention away from Frank's iguana episode and back to the task at hand.

"Yeah," he said. "the other place is called the Battery, it's a park right by the harbor. The last time I was there…with Reyna, we saw something in the park. A ghost or some sort of spirit, like a Southern belle from the Civil War, gloating and floating along. We tried to approach it, but it disappeared whenever we got close. Then Reyna had this feeling, she said she should try it alone. Like maybe it would only talk to a girl. She went up to the spirit by herself and, sure enough, it spoke to her."

Everybody waited for him to continue but he stayed quiet.

"What did it say?" Annabeth prodded.

"Reyna wouldn't tell me," Jason said, frowning a little. "But it must have been important. She seemed…shaken up. Maybe she got a prophecy or some bad news. Reyna never acted the same around me after that."

Annabeth looked like she had just made a decision. " A girl's adventure, then. Piper, Silena and Hazel can come with me."

The three girls nodded in agreement. Hazel looked nervous while Piper looked defiant. Silena just looked resigned. Charlie gave her a smirk and she glared back at him.

Annabeth gave Percy a mischievous look. "And you, Percy, can watch the rest of the Kids."

Percy gave her a betrayed look. "That's just mean."

Annabeth simply chuckled before continuing on with her sentence.

"So that's settled," She turned to Leo. "Leo, how long until we reach Charleston?"

"Good question," He muttered, glancing at the console. "Festus just detected a large group of eagles behind us- long-range radar, still not in sight."

"Are you sure they're Roman?" Piper asked, leaning over the console.

Leo rolled his eyes at the question. "No, Pipes. It could be a random group of giant eagles flying in perfect formation. Of course they're Roman! I suppose we could turn around and fight- "

"Which would be a bad idea," Jason warned. "and remove any doubt that we're enemies of Rome."

Leo continued, ignoring the interruption. "Or I've got another idea. If we take the straight route to Charleston, we could be there in a few hours. But the eagles would over take us, and things would get complicated. _Instead_ , we could send out a decoy to trick the eagles. We take the ship on a detour, go the long way to Charleston and get there tomorrow morning."

Hazel immediately started to protest but Leo raised his hand. "I know, I know. Nico's in trouble and we have to hurry."

"It's June twenty-seventh." Hazel rushed to get out. "After today, four more days. Then he dies."

"I know! But this might throw the Romans off our trail. We should still have enough time to reach Rome."

Hazel scowled unhappily. "When you say _should_ _have_ _enough_ …"

"How do you feel about _barely enough_?" Leo offered.

Hazel put her face in her hands miserably. "Sounds about typical for us."

"Okay, Leo," Annabeth took the go-ahead for what it was. "What kind of decoy are we talking about?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Leo dramatically hit a few buttons on his console, calling up the 'decoy'. "Buford? Report for duty, please."

Frank took a startled step backwards. "There's somebody else on the ship? Who's Buford?"

Lily grumbled. "A peach-throwing maniac, that's who."

Ethan snorted right beside her. He had found it especially funny how Leo had been told about Lily. Lily glared darkly at him, a promise of vengeance in her gaze. Ethan simply smirked at her, arrogance in his posture.

Charlie and Silena shared exasperated looks but let the two continue to silently bicker.

Buford appeared on deck and Lily flipped her glare from Ethan to the coffee table.

"This is Buford," Leo waved proudly at his insane table.

"You name your furniture?" Frank raised an eyebrow.

Leo snorted. "Man, you _wish_ you had furniture this cool. Buford, are you ready for Operation End Table?"

The Terrors giggled at the name and Leo threw them a quick smile as Buford took off, carrying a white full laundry bag.

"A helicopter table," Percy muttered, staring after Buford. "Gotta admit, that's cool. What's in the bag?"

"Dirty demigod laundry," Leo said nonchalantly. "I hope you don't mind Frank."

Frank choked hilariously. "What?"

"It'll throw the eagles off our scent."

"Those were my only extra pants!"

Leo gave an uncaring shrug. "I asked Buford to get them laundered and folded while he's out. Hopefully he does." He rubbed his hands together with a grin. "Well! I call that a good day's work. I'm gonna calculate our detour route now. See you all at dinner!"

Everyone slowly dispersed, Charlie immediately informing his parents that he was going downstairs to crash. Percy told him he'd be down in a few.

'At least one thing came out of this.' Charlie thought tiredly as he walked downstairs. 'I can keep my promise of killing Payton now.'

 **Yay! Chapter twenty three is done! How did you guys like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know in the reviews!**

 **Check out the next chapter on Friday! Comic out!**

RosettaQueen20 _\- Charlie is always going to tell his family the truth. It's like genetically impossible for him not to. That doesn't mean he won't keep things to himself to protect them though._

EspeonAuraGirl55 _\- Payton is batshit crazy, however she's the scary kind because she is still connected to reality. She simply doesn't care if the world burns though. I'm happy you liked the shout out, it seemed the least I could do for all you awesome people!_

Didi _\- Thank you for doing that! Tell your friend I said hi and I hope they like this! And good on you for recruiting another person into the PJO fandom! I'm glad you liked the shout out. Everything I said was true. You all are amazing and I'm so happy to have you. Payton is working for Gaea by the way, you hit it on the nose with your guess. She's is not however working with Octavian._

Guest _\- No, they're not related biologically. However they might as well be in their eyes, so no Charlie and Silena will not be getting together. There will be some romance in the story for them, just not with each other or any of the other cousins._


	24. Painful and Unforgotten Memories

**Hey guys, sorry this chapter is a little late. I've had a busy week, my prom is on Saturday so I've been prepping for that all week and I went to a funeral the day this was posted. And I've also been cursed with writers block, so it's been kind of a hellish week, plus this was written at 1am. Non the less, here is your Friday update! Please enjoy!**

 **(Silena POV)**

Silena was conflicted on her feelings about Charleston. On one hand, she had been getting antsy staying on the ship so long but on the other hand, she _really_ didn't want to run into Hugo or worse; Atlas.

Atlas just plain hated her, and for a reason she didn't get. It wasn't because she was pretty or because of something she did to him. No, it was because her mother had threatened, with Chiron and Annabeth backing her, to banish him from Camp Half-Blood and denied entry into Camp Jupiter, again with Reyna and Frank's backing.

Why did she do that, you might ask? Well, it was because Atlas had a rare power, even more rare than charmspeak. Atlas had the ability to control people's emotions, more specifically; he could make people fall in love, or _out_ of it too.

He had pulled a very stupid move one month and a half before he left camp with Hugo and Payton, most likely ordered by Payton. He tried his damnest, and almost succeeded, to make Silena's parents fall out of love.

Atlas had been smart too, he did it so subtly that almost nobody had noticed it at first. In the beginning it was small arguments between the two; clean up the house once in a while, stop working so late, etc.

Then it turned in to Piper accusing Jason of not loving her and Jason accusing her right back of cheating on him. Both accusations were unfounded and untrue, which should have been a warning sign to me but I was too caught up in the family drama.

Thank the gods Charlie and Ethan were both suspicious assholes and believed that there was no such thing as too paranoid.

The two amateur detectives had decided that there was absolutely no way that Silena's parents would act like this without some kind of magical tampering. So they went digging.

Eventually they caught Atlas manipulating her mother into thinking Jason was going to leave her for _Annabeth_ of all people, who had laughed hysterically when she heard that part of the story and reassured Piper that she was deeply in love with Percy, and that even if she wasn't, Jason was simply not her type. At all.

But the two boys had quickly knocked him out and stuffed him into an unused room in the Big House before getting Nico to grab Hazel from Camp Jupiter and cancel whatever spell Atlas had the married couple under.

She later told them all after the chaos had died down that if Charlie and Ethan had waited a week more the spell's affects would have been permanent. It still took her parents a long while to get back to where they were.

They had kept Atlas prisoner for a month, demanding to know who put him up to it. Silena had always suspected that he was the one that suggested her as the one for Payton to kill before the two of them and Hugo left camp.

Silena would never forgive him for that. Her family had been through _hell_ those three weeks Atlas had them under his spell, Louis had nightmares for _months_ after that incident. Their parents had too constantly reassure him that they were still happily together. And when Silena had been stabbed, her baby brother had felt guilty because he had gotten up to get water when she was attacked and hadn't noticed anything. It had taken months of reassurances, therapy, and Charlie promising to show him everything he knew about sword fighting for his guilt to lessen. Louis was only six years old.

So, if Silena was going to kill him for anything, it would be for that.

 _OoOoOoOo_

Silena was deeply remined of New Rome when she and the other three girls were walking around Charleston.

Don't get her wrong, it was _gorgeous_. It just seemed a little freaky to her, how alike it was. The others seemed to agree with her at least.

Piper was constantly looking around for an ambush while Hazel and Annabeth seemed content to look around in awe. Silena just hoped it wouldn't turn into a massacre, she also hoped Charlie and Percy wouldn't spend too long in the bay discussing their aquarium jail break with the Naiads.

They continued walking around the park they were in until Piper appeared to spot something.

"There," She pointed across the harbor, a shimmering whit figure hovered over the water. The closer it got to them, the more Silena could make it out. 'It was a woman,' Silena mentally decided, eyeing the apparition with distrust but also with a weird sense of déjà vu.

She tilted her head curiously, after all it was kind of odd to be feeling like that about a specter she'd never met.

"The ghost," Annabeth said, staring at the white spirit floating on the water.

Hazel shook her head. "No, that's not a ghost. No kind of spirit glows that brightly."

Silena only distantly heard their conversation, too busy staring intently at the figure. An inkling of what it could be passed through her mind as she stepped forward with her mom towards it.

The closer they got, the more Silena realized how right her guess was. Aphrodite, or Venus if your feeling particularly Roman, was standing a few yards away from them now.

Her mother stopped right beside Silena and began glaring at the goddess, having apparently come to the same conclusion as Silena.

"It _is_ her," Piper grumbled as the other two came to a stop slightly behind them.

Silena saw the other two squint at the love goddess for a few moments before understanding expressions passed over their faces.

"Aphrodite," Annabeth said in shock.

"Venus?" Hazel question in a similar tone to Annabeth.

"Mom," Piper said flatly.

"Hi grandma," Silena cheerfully waved at the goddess.

"Girls!" Aphrodite opened her arms like she wanted a big hug.

Silena studied her for a moment before shrugging, walking over to the goddess and giving her a hug. Aphrodite hugged her back with a low, "Hello darling, it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, grandma." Silena mumbled back, staying in the hug as Aphrodite focused her attention back on the other three.

"I'm so glad you're here. War is coming. Bloodshed is inevitable. So there's really only one thing to do."

"And what is that exactly?" Annabeth asked skeptically.

"Why, have tea and chat, obviously. Come with me!"

 _OoOoOoOo_

Tea with Aphrodite had always been fun, even if her mother didn't strictly approve. It wasn't because Piper didn't want Silena to never know her grandmother, it had more to do with the fact that she didn't approve of what she was being told. Silena had been quick however to reassure her mother that she took anything that Aphrodite said with a grain of salt.

Sat at a white pillared gazebo, with a table in the middle with beautiful china and polished silverware, with plates of perfectly backed cookies, scones and muffins. Silena had been expecting nothing less from her seemingly eccentric grandmother.

Aphrodite sat with perfect posture and regarded the four girls before her with a wicked gleam in her eye that had Silena feeling uncomfortable, she knew what the look meant. She was proved right a second later.

After the goddess exclaimed how she loved Charleston she gave Annabeth a coy look.

"Annabeth Chase, you've grown into quite a beautiful young lady. You should really do something with that hair, though." The goddess told the child of wisdom, said wisdom child looking slightly baffled at the conversation topic.

She then turned to Hazel. "And, Hazel Levesque, your clothes-"

"My clothes?" Hazel frowned in confusion, not understanding how the goddess could dislike them. Silena fought to keep her giggles quiet as Piper looked horrified by what Aphrodite was saying.

"Mother!" Piper just about whined. "You're embarrassing me."

"Well, I don't see why," The goddess waved her hand dramatically. "Just because _you_ don't appreciate my fashion tips, doesn't mean the others won't. I could do a quick makeover for Annabeth and Hazel, perhaps silk ball gowns like mine-"

"Mother!" That was totally a whine that just left her mother's mouth. Silena covered her mouth and leaned back in her chair, willing away the laughter that wanted to spill out of her.

"Fine," Aphrodite pouted as if her favorite toy had been taken away. "To answer your question, Annabeth, I am _both_ Aphrodite and Venus. Unlike many of my fellow Olympians, I hardly changed from one age to the next. In fact, I like to think I haven't changed at all! Love is love, after all, whether your Greek or Roman. This civil war won't affect me nearly as much as it will the others."

Hazel played with her cookie. "We're not in a war yet, my lady."

"Oh, dear Hazel." The goddess smiled like that was the most precious thing she had ever heard. "Such optimism, yet you have heartrending days ahead of you. Of _course_ war is coming. Love and war always go together. They are the peaks of the human emotion! Evil and Good, beauty and ugliness."

A somber feeling passed through Silena as everyone focused more on what was being said. As much as she hated to admit it, the goddess was right. A ton of wars throughout history could have the blame laid at the feet of love.

"What do you mean," Hazel said, ignoring her sugar cookie. "heartrending days?"

The goddess gave a patronizing laugh. "Well, Annabeth could give you some idea. I once made her a promise to make _her_ love life interesting. And didn't I?"

Annabeth's jaw tightened and Silena watched as she considered the silverware in front of her, obviously wishing to commit some serious violence. Instead she set down her tea cup and _glared_ at the goddess.

"Interesting," Annabeth slowly spit out. "is putting it mildly."

"Well, I can't take _all_ the credit for your troubles." Aphrodite said, _far_ too happily. "But I do love the twists and turns in a love story. Oh, you three are such excellent stories- I mean girls. You do me proud!"

"Mother," Piper interrupted, shooting an apologetic look at Annabeth and Hazel. "is there a reason you're here?"

"Hmm? You mean besides the tea? I often come here. I love the view, the food, the atmosphere. You can just smell the romance and heartbreak in the air, can't you? Centuries of it."

As Aphrodite started regaling them with the history of Charleston, Silena boredly gazed around the area, double taking at a small sign a little ways from the gazebo, near a tiny well.

Silena stood up and walked over to it, a bad feeling in her gut worsening as she saw the sign had only a symbol painted on it- a dove with a lightning bolt in the background, largely considered the Grace family symbol.

She clapped her hands together, making her daggers appear and approached the well. She frowned noticing the cover on the well was loose, looking like it had been recently messed with.

She put one of her daggers away and used her newly freed hand to slowly lift the well cover. Staring into the well, she noticed nothing wrong with it and set her gaze on the circular piece of wood in her hand.

Clenching her teeth, she spun back around and stalked back to her mother and aunts who were still talking with her grandmother.

Piper noticed her agitated state first as Aphrodite said goodbye and disappeared.

"What's wrong?" Piper demanded as Silena came into speaking range.

Silena stayed silent, simply tossing the well cover on to the table. The three women crowded around it and bristled with righteous fury.

"They're taunting us." Annabeth hissed.

Why were they so mad you ask? Well, it was a picture but not the picture you were expecting.

It was a photograph taken the night Silena had been attacked. Payton was holding a camera in the selfie position, smiling brightly while a profusely bleeding Silena laid limply in the background, cuts and slices all over her arms and legs.

The sleep shirt and yoga pants she wore was torn to shreds, showing off the gruesome sight of her stomach which was the most damaged part of her body.

Four long, deep cuts lacerated up her body from her navel until stopping just shy of her ribs with a knife still stabbed into her.

It was a horrifying sight that had Silena backing away as her anger melted into fear and anxiety, doing her damnest not to fall into a trauma induced flashback.

Piper thankfully noticed and hugged her tightly, glancing back at the other two with a mothers fury shown in every inch of her face.

"It's time to get out of here."

 **So, what did you guys think? Too gruesome, not gruesome enough? Let me now in the reviews! Also I finished this at 3:18am so please be gentle.**

 **Come back next Tuesday for Chapter Twenty Five! Comic out!**

RosettaQueen20- _Thank you, as always! Things are most definitely picking up now, seeing as we're about half-way through MoA. Was this enough angst/horrible emotion for you?_

EspeonAuraGirl55- _Leo gets the sphere near the end of MoA, when he has to use the fortune cookie from Nemesis. One of my favorite Frank moments as well! Emily will shapeshift eventually, however it's going to be in a very high stress, emotion ridden scene._

Didi- _Great! Not gonna lie, last chapter was mostly a filler and getting the Kids powers explanation out of the way so I didn't have to do it later. Plus I had no clue what I wanted to do for that chapter. I was hoping to make Payton a believable villain, insane obviously but is so scarily smart, she's actually a threat. Annabeth would most definitely do that to Percy. No problem for the shout, I loved doing it._


	25. The Pain of Remembrance

**(Warning! Torture is in this chapter! It doesn't go into extremely explicit detail. However, if you don't like that sort of thing or can't read it for some sort of reason, then don't! It's all in the beginning of the chapter, so just skip past the long italic portion of this chapter and you'll be fine, kay?)**

 **Okay, I know this is late. I'm really sorry! I just had a REALLY busy week and couldn't find a lot of time to write. But I also wanted to ask you guys something, do you want me to keep updating twice a week and sometimes miss an update, or would you guys like me to update once a week and make the chapters double the length they are now? Please let me know what you guys want!**

 **Anyway, on with the chapter!**

 **(Silena POV)**

Somedays it just wasn't worth it. Running around the country and sometimes the world to battle monsters and giants and evil, scum-like earth goddess just lost appeal rather quickly.

It didn't help that Silena had quite literally been born for this, so it wasn't exactly like she could just quit. The only thing that stopped her from going insane was her family.

Her parents, little brother, various aunts and uncles and her cousins made it all worth it though. Knowing they were safe made the long days and nightmare filled nights worth everything in her book.

Still, the Fates seemed to love testing that conviction. It all started that terrible night months before she and her cousins lept into the past.

 _[Flasback]_

 _Silena had never really known what pain felt like until that horrible night, every other injury that she had gotten before seemed like a paper-cut in the face of the pure agony that Payton had decided to force onto her._

 _The worst part was that she hadn't even seen it coming. She knew Payton's personality had seemingly flipped and that she had started badmouthing them but she never saw this brutality coming._

 _Silena had been peacefully sleeping, completely exhausted from training that day, when she felt a hand clamp over her mouth and Payton's voice in her ear, speaking in a cold voice._

" _Easy Lena," Payton cooed cruelly. "Wouldn't want you to wake up Mommy and Daddy."_

 _A chill ran down Silena's back as she slowly nodded her head, making sure to not make a sound. She opened her eyes and locked gazes with her ex friend, noting the pleased smile on her lips._

" _Good girl," Payton praised, grinning maliciously._

 _Silena swallowed harshly and took stock of her situation. Payton was seated on the edge of her bed with a hand still covering Silena's mouth while her other one held a serrated knife that looked extremely sharp._

 _Silena's gaze flickered to the door and Payton laughed, catching the look._

" _I wouldn't try it, Lena." She said with a smirk. "I've put up a silencing ward around your entire room, nobody's going to hear you scream."_

 _Silena jerked her eyes up to Payton's, mentally pleading for to be lying. Payton simply chuckled and removed her hand from Silena's mouth and began tossing her dagger around._

" _Why?" Silena asked, her voice slightly hoarse._

" _Why not?" Payton replied before sighing and explaining further. "You and your cousins are going to the past to help your parents. I resent that mission, thusly I'm taking steps to ensure you all never succeed."_

 _Silena stared at her in shock before replying back. "Why in the name of the gods would you resent that? We're going to make the world safer! Make sure Tartarus is fixed! How is that a bad thing?"_

 _Payton sighed again and stood, beginning to pace. "It's not, at least for the good guys that is. However I like to think of myself as a freelance demigod, my parents do as well, so as a freelance demigod I can be_ persuaded _to someone else's side. Especially if they appeal to my more, how do you say it? Ah, greedy would be the word I suppose."_

 _Silena gaped at her and slowly shook her head in disbelief. How could her friend that she had known for years be this cold? She had never acted like this before._

 _Payton seemed to notice her disbelief and once again gave a venomous smirk. "You're wondering why I'm acting like this, right? How sweet, caring Payton Lewis could dare lock you in your room and brandish a knife around?"_

 _Payton sat back on the bed and leaned in close, dropping her voice to a whisper. "Well I'll tell you a secret. The Payton you've known for years? She's not real. She's a figment of my imagination, a persona I can call upon anytime I want."_

 _She leaned back and laughed at the slightly terrified look on Silena's face. "Yes, the great Hero's of Olympus and their children were duped by me, an unimportant, unassuming legacy of Apollo and Hermes. Who would've thought?"_

 _Silena took a shaky breath and screwed up her pride, lifting her chin and looked her in the eye._

" _So what are you going to do to me, huh? Kill me?" She asked sarcastically, pushing her fear and horror as far down as she could._

 _Payton gave a Mona Lisa smile. "Oh, don't worry. You'll die, just as soon as I get bored of you."_

 _Silena's stomach dropped to her feet and she opened her mouth to question the dagger wielding girl what she meant by that when she was cut off by said girl plunging her dagger straight into Silena's thigh._

 _Instantly Silena screamed loudly as white hot pain shot up her leg. After a few seconds Payton nonchalantly pulled it out, causing Silena to scream in agony once again._

 _Silena gasped, barely registering the tears running down her face as she fought with herself, forcing her body to not go into shock._

 _Payton simply wiped her dagger on her bed sheets and waited for Silena's breath to ease a little bit. She leaned forward again and continued smiling at Silena._

" _That was just a taste of what I have in store for you tonight. Before we go any further, I want tell you something important. You with me?" Payton snapped her fingers in front of Silena's face._

" _Good, I wanted to tell you that I never cared about you. Any of you really," Payton informed her, putting her hand on the thigh she had driven her dagger through and digging her fingers in._

 _Silena gave another scream as another wave of pain spasmed through her. She whimpered loudly as Payton kept her fingers where they were, squeezing every once in a while._

" _Now," Payton said, her eyes filled with a wicked glint. "Lets get this started shall we?"_

 _With that she stabbed her dagger into Silena's other thigh, electing another scream of agony. She smiled happily throughout the entire thing._

 _Forty five minutes later saw Silena sprawled on the bed, nearing unconsciousness, while Payton stood up and stretched. Payton gave a content look and patted Silena on the cheek._

" _That was fun, wasn't it? Now, you'll be a good girl and bleed to death, won't you?" She asked rhetorically._

 _She gave a mocking grin and sauntered out of the room, leaving Silena to die alone, in her room with a dagger still in her gut._

 _Silena continued her gasping breaths as she stared up at the ceiling. She started to silently sob as she thought about how her parents would find her. Laid out on her bed with various slashes, cuts and stab wounds all over her body. The only thing Payton didn't touch was her face, stating that "It would be a crime in of it's self to hurt such a pretty face."_

 _She forced herself to relax as she blocked out all thoughts of her family finding her like this. She took as many deep breaths as she could, closing her eyes and letting the warm darkness surround her._

 _The last thing she heard before slipping off into the wonderfully pain free place that was unconsciousness was the sound of her door slamming open and Ethan screaming for help._

 _{Flashback Over}_

 _OoOoOo_

Back in the reality, Silena snapped out of her flashback and registered the couple of tears that had slid down her face as her mother cajoled her away from the pavilion as Hazel and Annabeth led the way, glancing back at them in concern.

Silena sucked in a shaky breath as she wiped away her tears while Piper rubbed her back, ushering her towards the dock.

They didn't make it very far.

Three eagles flew down and landed in front of them, depositing their Roman counterparts on the ground.

The eagles flew away once they saw their owners taking up defensive positions. Octavian, who Silena saw was in the middle, stepped forward while raising his visor.

"Surrender to Rome!" The augur shrieked.

Hazel drew her sword and snapped. "Fat chance, Octavian."

Silena distantly heard Annabeth curse while she eyed the Roman's with a calculating stare. Piper shifted her stance and went from holding Silena to stepping in front of her.

"Octavian, what happened at camp was a setup. We can explain." Piper said soothingly.

"Can't hear you!" Octavian hollered. "Wax in our ears, standard procedure when battling evil sirens. Now, throw down your weapons and turn around slowly so I can bind your hands."

Silena silently snarled at the term 'evil siren'. She hated that term, Hugo's nickname for had been that and it never ceased to get under her skin. Silena was also ignoring how she was using the situation to avoid thinking about her flashback. She's deal with it later, preferably with a lot of chocolate and Charlie helping her work through it.

She forced herself back into the present as Annabeth tossed her dagger into the bay and Octavian yelled at her.

"What was that for? I didn't say _toss_ it! That could've been evidence. Or spoils of war!" He raged.

Annabeth gave what Silena recognized as her 'dumb blonde' smile that only ever fooled idiots and people who didn't know her. Silena put Octavian into the first category as he huffed, seeming to believe it.

"You three," He pointed at the three remaining girls that were armed. "Put your weapons on the dock. No funny bus-"

Octavian was cut off by a wall of sea water slamming into him and the other two Romans. When it dissipated the three Romans were in the bay, sputtering and try to stay afloat with their heavy armor. Percy and Charlie stood on the dock, Percy holding Annabeth's dagger with a calm, steady expression while Charlie had a devious smirk on his face as he briefly eyed the Romans doggy-paddling about.

"You dropped this." Percy told Annabeth, his expression never changing.

Annabeth jumped forward and wrapped her arms around him. "I love you!"

Silena saw Charlie snicker at his parents before facing her. The moment he looked at her the smile was wiped off his face and he gained an angry, nearly homicidal look. He quickly walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"What's wrong?" He asked her urgently, eyes flickering over her face.

She swallowed and gave him the photo still clenched in her fist. He gently took it and glanced at it, his body noticeably tensing as he stared at it.

"Well, fuck." He said eloquently.

Silena huffed in agreement, burrowing herself into his chest. She gave a sigh as he wrapped his arms around her and tightly pulled her into him.

"Charlie? What's up?" Percy called from behind them, concern lacing his voice as he witnessed the hug.

She could feel Charlie's chest vibrate slightly as he replied. "We'll tell you later. Right now, we need to go."

Percy studied his son for moment before nodding his head. "Alright, let's get a move on."

They rushed onto the _Argo ll_ , Annabeth ordering them around immediately.

"Piper, get below deck. Use the sink in the galley for an Iris-message. Warn Jason to get back here!" Annabeth yelled as she ran for the helm.

Piper nodded and sprinted off.

"Hazel, go find Coach Hedge and tell him to get his furry hindquarters on deck!"

"Right!"

"Percy, you and I need to get this ship to Fort Sumter."

Percy gave a sharp nod and moved to the mast. Annabeth turned to Charlie and Silena, giving them a thoughtful look.

"You two get downstairs. Charlie, you pass Silena off to either Ethan or Lily and get back up here." She told them.

"Yes ma'am." Charlie said curtly, slipping into what Silena liked to refer to as his 'soldier' mode.

Charlie wrapped an arm around her waist and guided them downstairs, taking them into the mess hall where Ethan and Emily were apparently in the middle of playing Jenga. The two stopped what they were doing and jumped to their feet.

"Ethan, take care of Lena. Shortstack, come with me." Charlie ordered in a 'don't fuck with me' tone.

Ethan immediately took Charlie's place by her side and Charlie rushed out the door with Emily on his heels.

Ethan gently sat her down and gazed at her. "What happened Lena? What's got you so freaked out?"

She sniffled and fought back a wave of tears as she thought about the picture that had been left for and the memories it brought with it.

"Lena?" Ethan prodded again. "Tell me."

The dam inside her broke and she spilled everything that had happened in the last hour, the picture and flashback included. Ethan's jaw tensed till she was sure his teeth were cracking from the pressure but kept silent until she finished telling him everything, tears spilling from her eyes and sliding down her cheeks.

He tugged her into a tight hug and ran his hand up and down her back while whispering reassurances in her ear. Silena cuddled into him and stayed there for what seemed like hours, focusing on her breathing.

Finally Ethan pulled back and looked at her straight in the eyes. "We're going to find Payton and when we do, she is going to _die_."

Silena found herself comforted by his matter-of-fact tone. He wasn't saying it like a threat, more like it was a simple fact of life. Payton Lewis was going to die when they found her, simple as that.

Silena took a deep breath and nodded. "Right, we'll find her, and our siblings. Everything going to be okay."

Ethan gave a confidant smile. "Exactly. After all, who can escape from our family?"

Silena chuckled and agreed. Their family _was_ ridiculously hard to avoid.

Despite the fact that their family might be in need of them they stayed where they were, Silena resting her head on Ethan's shoulder while he threw his arm across the back of her chair. They heard brief shouts every now and then from upstairs but thankfully weren't called up to help.

Eventually the ship began moving and Silena gave Ethan a thankful smile before standing up and stretching.

"I think I'm going to go take a nap." Silena quietly told him.

He studied her for a minute before nodding his head, standing as well.

"Call for us if you need anything." Ethan said before walking out of the room.

Silena followed him out the door and walked to her and Piper's shared cabin, collapsing on the bed immediately.

She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling tiredly before shutting her eyes, welcoming the sleepiness that overcame her.

At least she was still alive.

 **So what did you guys think? Love it? Hate it? Please let me know in the reviews!**

 **Tune in on Friday for Chapter Twenty Six of Fated to Save! Comic out!**

RosettaQueen20 _\- Thank you, my darling! I aim to please after all! So, you witnessed Silena's view of what happened this chapter, what did you think? Trust me, I'm as blown away as you are that this is up to 25 chappies._

Didi- Thanks for your concern! I love you all too. The funeral was horrible in the way that I was saying goodbye to someone forever which just sucks. Prom was kind of sucky because teenagers nowadays apparently don't know how to socialize. Plus the 'DJ' (Who was over 35 for some reason) played extremely loud music that, honestly? Wasn't that good. Part of the reason this chappie was so late was because I was catching up on much needed sleep, so you happy with me? I took your advice (order). Anyway, hope you enjoyed! (As for your guess about Tartarus, you are extremely close to what I'm going to do.)

EspeonAuraGirl55- _It's Aphrodite, she strikes me as the type to just go with the flow when it concerns any of her offspring, or in this case her offspring's offspring. I think, provided the right circumstances, children of Aphrodite can be VERY scary._

AnonymousGirl11- _THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Seriously though, thank you for reading and reviewing. Means a lot to me!_

Dark Hero12- _Thank you very much! I'm glad you found it too!_


	26. Shared Flashbacks Are No Fun

**(Emily POV)**

Emily wasn't quite sure how she got here.

Well, she knew how she got there of course, she just couldn't logic it out in her brain.

Here she was, standing with her mom and uncle in a shared memory. The two Parents had been discussing her dad and his attitude toward Leo with Emily half listening in as she boredly looked out at sea when all of a sudden Hazel was telling Leo to share one of her flashbacks. So _obviously_ Emily invited herself along.

Uggg, bad mistake. Why did she do this to herself? Oh, that's right, she had what Charlie liked to call 'the mind of a cat when it sees a laser, you just have to chase it.'. Meaning if something caught her attention, she would never let it go

Her mom caught her attention.

Still she really should've said _no_ when her mom asked if she wanted to see the flashback as well. Bad Emily! Think with your head, and not your irresistibly catlike attention span!

Unfortunately she said yes, so now she was in a flashback watching her mom's younger self getting bullied, much to her dismay.

"Witch girl!" A boy called out, lumbering toward Hazel's memory self.

Emily shifted angrily. She had been called a witch many times when she was still getting the hang of magic. Unlike her mother though, Emily had had _plenty_ of family members willing to kick the crap out of whomever was insulting her.

"That's Rufus," Her real mother said with distaste.

"Seriously? No way his name is Rufus," Leo said with a scrunch of his nose.

Emily tilted her head and squinted at Rufus. "I don't know Uncle Leo. He seems like a Rufus to me."

Leo hummed and copied her movements. "Okay," he allowed. "I can see it now."

Emily's mother sighed in exasperation. "Come on you two."

Emily and Leo obediently followed behind her mother as she walked toward Memory Hazel and Rufus, the two observers glancing curiously at everything they passed.

"Lunch." Rufus demanded, thrusting his hand out.

"Could he be any more cliché?" Emily asked, incredulous.

Leo snorted beside her and nodded in agreement. Hazel pursed her lips but stayed silent, continuing to watch.

Memory Hazel didn't protest at all, simply handing over with a seemingly dismissive air that Rufus failed to pick up on.

A couple older girls drifted over to watch her get shaken down for her lunch. One giggled irritatingly at Rufus. "You don't want to eat that. It's probably poisoned."

Emily scoffed at the idiocy. "Oh, really? And she would poison her _own_ lunch because, what? She likes the taste of it? How stupid can you be?"

Leo positively cackled next to her while Hazel's lips twitched into a faint smile even as Rufus asked a question.

"You're right," He said, holding the bag with two fingers as if it could infect him with something. "Did your witch mother make this, Levesque?"

"She's not a witch," Memory Hazel muttered defiantly, eyeing Rufus with an anger Emily had felt before.

Rufus dropped the bag and proceeded to step on it, crushing Memory Hazel's food. "You can have it back. I want a diamond, though. I hear your momma can make those out of thin air."

"I want to punch this guy," Emily stated, glaring darkly at the preteen boy. "I want hit him so hard, he'll see stars for a week."

"Easy, Rambo," Leo cautioned. "You can't hit him. It's a memory. Trust me, I'm bummed about that too."

Emily grumbled and pouted, continuing to glare at the jerk who called her mother a witch. Hazel put a soothing hand on her shoulder, giving her a thankful smile. Emily sighed and rested her head on her shoulder, watching the scene still happening in front of them.

"I don't have diamonds," M Hazel gritted out. "Go away."

Emily was just about ready to lose her cool when another person inserted themselves into the scene. Emily startled a step back, staring in shock.

"Holy crap!" She squawked. "He looks just like you, Uncle Leo!"

Leo nodded dumbly, staring at his apparent double. Hazel just sighed, looking at the double with an unreadable expression.

"You see?" She asked.

Emily sputtered. "Wha- how, huh?"

"Exactly what she just said." Leo agreed empathetically.

Some kids backed when the double (Er, Sammy) practically skipped his way into the situation. Others immediately surged forward and looked like they wished they had popcorn.

Rufus hadn't yet noticed Sammy and was continuing to bully Memory Hazel for a diamond.

"Come on, girl." He towered over her, forcing her to back up against the wall. "Give it!"

Memory Hazel curled into the wall. The ground by her feet split open and popped out a diamond the size of a peanut.

"Ha!" Rufus laughed as bent to pick it up. Memory Hazel yelled, "No, please!" as if she actually cared what happened to him.

It was at this point that Not Leo decided to join in.

Emily curiously watched him as he moved the dunce cap she had just noticed him carrying to his mouth and take a deep breath in.

"CUT!" He yelled loudly, the dunce cap amplifying the word.

Everyone froze and stared at the loud boy. Even Rufus straightened up and gave a confused look toward Sammy.

Emily began snickering as a little boy, snickering as well, said. "Hammy Sammy."

Leo looked torn between bewilderment and amusement as they watched Sammy storm over to Rufus, dunce cap in hand.

"No, no, no!" Sammy scowled darkly, waving his free hand around at the others kids gathering around for the show.

He then abruptly turned toward Memory Hazel. "Miss Lamarr, your line is…" He looked around in exasperation. "Script! What is Hedy Lamarr's line?"

" _No, please, you villain!_ " one of the boys called out.

"Thank you!" Sammy said in a delighted tone. "Miss Lamarr, you're supposed to say, _No please, you villain!_ And you, Clark Gable-"

The courtyard they were in exploded with laughter at the name. Emily had never seen any movies involving those actors but she was amused by the implication.

"Mr. Gable-"

"No!" one girl interrupted. "Make him Gary Cooper!"

More laughter followed that demand. Rufus looked ready to throw down. His hands were clenched like he wanted to hit someone but couldn't decide who to start with.

Leo nodded in approval at his apparent Great Grandfather. Emily couldn't help but agree. She also thought it was a little disturbing how alike Sammy, Leo and Lily were to each other.

"Right!" Sammy yelled. "Mr. Cooper, you say, oh _, but the diamond is mine, my treacherous darling_. And then you scoop up the diamond like this!"

"Sammy, no!" Memory Hazel cried but Sammy ignored her, snatching up the gem and slipping it into his pocket.

He whipped around to face Rufus. "I want emotion! I want the ladies in the audience swooning! Ladies, did Mr. Cooper make you swoon just now?"

"No," the ladies simultaneously answered backed, mostly amused.

"There, you see?" Sammy dramatically cried. "Now, from the top!" he yelled into the dunce cap once more. "Action!"

Rufus growled and stomped over to him. "Valdez, I'm gonna-"

He was cut off by the school bell. Little kids swarmed the doors. Sammy immediately tugged Memory Hazel out of the way as little kids (who were apparently on Sammy's payroll from the looks of things) shoved Rufus back inside with them.

"That was so cool!" Emily whispered to herself. Leo agreed with her as he watched the doors with a smirk.

Soon the courtyard was empty except for Sammy, Memory Hazel and the three onlookers.

Sammy picked up Memory Hazel's crushed lunch and amusedly brushed it off. He presented it to her as if he were a waiter with an impressive bow. "Miss Lamarr."

Memory Hazel took the bag, though she looked like she was about to start bawling. From relief, frustration or misery, neither Emily or Leo could tell. "Sammy…Rufus is going to kill you."

"Ah, he knows not to tangle with me." Sammy dropped his dunce cap on his top of the jockey cap he wore. He stood up straight and puffed his scrawny chest out. The dunce cap tumbled off.

Emily started snickering again as Memory Hazel laughed. "You are ridiculous."

"Why, thank you, Miss Lamarr." Sammy tipped an imaginary cowboy hat.

You're welcome, _my treacherous darling_."

'What is with this guy and hats?' Emily faintly wondered as she watched the two memory people become tense as the atmosphere of the conversation changed.

"You shouldn't nave touched that diamond. It's dangerous."

"Ah, come on," Sammy waved away her concern. "Not for me!"

Memory Hazel eyed him cautiously, like she desperately wanted to believe it but life experience told her not to. "Bad thing might happen. You shouldn't-"

"I won't sell it." Sammy solemnly promised. "I swear! I'll just keep it as a token of your flavor."

Memory Hazel forced a smile. "I think you mean _token of my favor_."

"There you are! We should get going. It's time for our next scene: _Hedy Lamarr nearly dies of boredom in English class_."

Sammy held out his elbow for Memory Hazel to hold but she just playfully slapped it away. "Thanks for being there, Sammy."

"Miss Lamarr, I will _always_ be there for you!" he said brightly. The two sprinted back to the schoolhouse, squabbling all the way.

Emily shook her head, muttering. "Bizarre, so incredibly bizarre."

She turned to look at her uncle and was unsurprised to see him looking like he'd just seen a ghost. "Take it easy, Uncle Leo."

He ignored her and looked at Hazel. "Hazel, I-I don't- wha-"

The schoolyard dissolved around them.

Emily frowned and glanced around worriedly. "Is this supposed to happen?"

Hazel shook her head. "Where _are_ we? This isn't from my life!"

Leo had a sudden look of realization. "It's Houston," he said. "I know this view. That drainage pipe…This is my mom's old neighborhood, where she grew up. Hobby Airport is over that way."

"This is _your_ life?" Hazel asked. "I don't understand! How-?"

"What the frak?" Emily muttered.

"You're asking me?" Leo demanded in response to Hazel's question.

Emily eyed the old man in front of him as he spoke. "Ah, Hazel…" he murmured.

The trio kept extremely still. Emily mind raced with thoughts, most involving the question _what do we do now?_

"I guess we ran out of time," the old man continued, staring at the sunset. "Well…"

He didn't finish the sentence.

Emily and the two Parents continued to stay still. The old man kept quiet though. Emily slowly realized the man had simply been talking to himself.

"Okay, that's a little freaky." Emily exhaled.

The screen door to the house they standing in front of opened and a women holding a baby wrapped in a blue blanket stepped out.

"Look, _mijo_ ," she said soothingly. "This is your _bisabuelo_. _Bisabuelo_ , you want to hold him?"

"A boy!" the old man grinned. " _Mi bebito_ , Leo!

Right beside Emily, Leo's shoulders shook slightly as he very obviously fought back tears. Hazel looked concerned while Emily whipped her head between looking at Leo and staring at the baby.

"Uncle Leo…is that-?" she hesitantly asked.

Leo swallowed back his tears and nodded. Emily sucked in a surprise breath and glanced at the woman, _Leo's mother_ , studying her features.

"She looks like Lily." Emily noted.

Leo gave a shaky laugh. "Yes, she does."

"Leo?" Hazel said. "That's- That's you? What is _bisabuelo_?"

Leo stayed silent so Emily answered for him.

"It means Great Grandfather, momma." Emily quietly explained, looking at the moment between a great grandfather and a great grandson.

"Oh," Hazel said in a subdued tone. Then her eyes widened. "Oh, Sammy, no…"

"Ah, little Leo," Sammy Valdez cuddled Baby Leo. "You'll have to be my stunt double, eh? That's what they call it, I think. Tell her for me. I hoped I would be alive, but, _ay_ , the curse won't have it!"

Hazel sobbed. "Gaea…Gaea told me died of a heart attack, in the 1960s. But, this isn't- this can't be…"

Emily hugged her mom tightly, letting her cling back to her as they watched the scene with a new fervor.

"That lady, Dona Callida, she warned me." Sammy shook his head sadly. "She said Hazel's great danger would not happen in my lifetime. But I promised I would be there for. You will have to tell I'm sorry, Leo. Help her if you can."

" _Bisabuelo_ ," Esperanza interrupted the one way conversation. "You must be tired."

She went to grab the baby but Sammy cuddled him closer. Baby Leo didn't protest at the tighter hold.

"Tell her I'm sorry I sold the diamond, eh?" Sammy continued. "I broke my promise. When she disappeared in Alaska…ah, so long ago, I finally used that diamond, moved to Texas as I always dreamed. I started my machine shop. Started my family! It was a good life, but Hazel was right. That diamond came with a curse. I never saw her again."

"Oh, Sammy," Hazel sounded heartbroken, still clutching Emily tightly. "No, a curse didn't keep me away. I _wanted_ to come back. I died!"

Sammy didn't hear her. "I give you my blessing, Leo. First male great-grandchild! I have a feeling you are special, like Hazel was. You are more than a regular baby, eh? You will carry on for me. You will see her someday. Tell her hi for me."

"Bisabuelo," Esperanza said, a touch sternly.

"Yes, yes." Sammy sighed, chuckling a little. " _El viejo loco_ rambles on. I am tired, Esperanza. You are right. But I'll rest soon. It's been a good life. Raise him well, _nieta_."

The scene faded away to nothingness, leaving them standing back on the deck of the _Argo ll,_ two of them emotional messes and the third fighting to keep them from bursting into sobs.

The sun was down, Hazel's eyes were puffy from crying and Leo looked about ready to burst into tears. Emily was squashing the urge to scream for Charlie and Silena. The two of them would not be pleased with getting called upstairs because Emily couldn't deal with crying family members.

Leo cleared his throat. "Hello, Hazel Levesque."

Hazel's mouth trembled. She turned as she sucked in a shaky breath, opening her mouth to speak. Before she could however, the ship lurched to one side.

Emily stumbled and fell on the ground as Hazel nearly went with her. Leo scrambled to balance himself before moving to help the two girls up.

"Leo!" Coach Hedge yelled.

Emily whirled around to face him as Festus clicked in alarm and blew out flames. The ships alarmed bell sounded.

"Those monsters you were worried about?" Hedge shouted. "One of 'em found us!"

Emily groaned loudly. "Here we go again."

 **Tada! A chapter in Emily's POV! Hope this makes up for the once again late update. Hope you enjoy!**

RosettaQueen20- _I put all that in so you could get your angst and H/C fix. Hope you enjoyed! I'm gonna be cackling evilly the entire time I write that scene. Muhahahaha!_

Didi- _I'm glad I had the experience, you know? I can always look back and say_ "Yes, I went to prom.". _I'm gonna try my hardest to get out two chapters a week but I hope you understand that I might not be able to sometimes, I will do my best for you guys though. Payton is a psychopath but a very intelligent one. She is going to be very hard to beat, and we may see our protagonists get more hurt (Psychologically, emotionally and physically) the more we get into the story. Again, I'm going to steal your ideas, cause damn they are awesome! I'll be sure to give you full credit though! Tell your friend I honestly can't wait for her to read this and again, that I say hi! Cheers!_

EspeonAuraGirl55 _\- Ugggg, it's so hard to find time to write. Thankfully I don't have much of a life at the moment so it's relatively easy to get out chapters. The reason Silena didn't fight back was because she was far too shocked by Payton to register the fact that fighting back might be a good idea. I mean, how would you feel if one of your former friends that you have known since you were little suddenly appeared in your room in the dead of night to torture you? I think anyone would be a little slow on the uptake. That's just my opinion though._

Percabeth 8531- _Hmmm, I can't exactly tell you that, as it's a surprise for later. I will say the love interests will be OCs._

gggg- _Typo, sorry. You're right though, Sammy is Leo's Great Grandfather, my bad. Thanks for the review! Hope you continue to like the story!_

Nameless- _Firstly, I like your name, very cool. Secondly, I'm glad you reviewed at all! It means you are invested in this story enough to want more answers. Zack and Ethan's powers will be explained, I promise! I actually plan on doing that in a couple chapters, so please be patient with me! Yes, Payton is a legacy of Hermes and Apollo, doesn't really mean anything, I kind of just threw a metaphorical dart at a list of Olympians and got those two. *Shrugs* You get what you get. Thanks so much for reviewing!_


	27. Shrimpzilla and Fish-Horse People

**Artistic credit for last chapter goes out to Didi! I love you!**

 **(Charlie POV)**

Charlie felt slightly more tired than he let on. After helping Percy and Jason get the ship as far away from Charleston as they could as fast as they could, Charlie realized he may have helped a little _too_ much.

The two demigods had needed a little help with storm they had concocted but Charlie was so focused on getting them away, he didn't realize that he had made the storm a little too strong.

He thankfully didn't feel as exhausted as Percy and Jason who had needed assistance _getting_ to their cabins to sleep it off. Charlie only felt like taking a nap.

He couldn't though since they were still at sea and at least one of the sea god descendants needed to be awake. However he should have taken that nap since he had nodded for what felt like barely a minute and now there was a monster attacking. How lovely.

The ship lurched to one side and Charlie startled out of his half dazed state, tumbling out of the chair he had brought up from the mess hall.

Picking himself up off the floor and glancing around the deck, he registered Leo, Hazel and Emily stumbling from the abrupt gravity change while Coach Hedge started yelling. Festus whirred and whined, telling them of the danger as he blew flames into the open sky.

"Leo! Those monsters you were worried about?" Hedge shouted over the noise. "One of 'em found us!"

Emily instantly groaned loudly. "Here we go again."

Charlie snorted as he walked over to them. "What midget? Don't want to fight a potentially dangerous and disgusting sea monster?"

Emily shot him a dirty look and opened her mouth to retort. Before she could however the ship once again tilted to one side causing everyone to stumble. Charlie's hands snapped out and grabbed onto Emily, pulling her to his chest.

Charlie held onto her until the ship stopped swaying, only hesitantly letting go of her when he felt completely still.

"Valdez!" Hedge yelled again. "Which button blows up monsters? Take the helm!"

Leo was already in motion though, rushing over to the helm and beginning to push buttons. He froze along with everyone else though when the monster surfaced out of the water.

It was the length of the _Argo ll_ , had pink skin and various aquatic body parts. In short, it was horrendous. Charlie shook his head at the creature and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Gods, I hope your one of Kate's, because if I'm related to you I'm never coming out of my room again." He murmured.

Emily snorted next to him. "Wouldn't that be a shame."

Charlie glanced at her and pursed his lips. "Not funny, shortstack. Not funny at all."

She simply gave him an innocent smile. He glared at her but decided that now was not a good time to be arguing because the giant sea creature tilted the ship, almost sending everyone flying once again.

After rebalancing himself, he glanced back Emily. She gave a 'what the hell' look toward him.

"Later," the two of them agreed before they both darted off toward Leo.

"Come on, Valdez!" Hedge yelled. "Take the wheel so I can get my baseball bat!"

"A bat's not going to help!" Leo screamed back as he made his way to the helm. Charlie and Emily followed him, stumbling slightly as the creature continued to 'play' with their ship.

Behind the three of them, everyone else tumbled upstairs.

"What's going- Gah! Shrimpzilla!" Percy yelped hysterically.

Frank ran to Hazel's side, who looked dazed but alive as she clutched the rigging, whilst throwing his daughter a concerned look. Emily waved him toward Hazel, insinuating that she was fine.

The monster rammed into the ship again. Annabeth, Piper, and Jason were knocked to the ground and almost rolled overboard. Lily and Ethan hastily held on to each other while Silena and Zack grabbed hold of the railing.

"What's going on!" Silena screamed over the noise.

"I don't know!" Charlie yelled back from his position near the helm.

She pushed herself to her feet and stumbled over toward him. "Well, that's just typical."

"No kidding," Emily agreed, glaring over at the monster.

Charlie huffed in agreement as well but turned his attention elsewhere. "Uncle Leo! What do we do!?"

Leo's hands flew over the console in front of him as he answered Charlie. "Try not to go overboard!"

At once the three Kids turned to stare at him with unimpressed looks. "Yeah, that's real helpful. Great advice, Uncle Leo." Emily said sarcastically.

Leo gave her a reprimanding look but was too busy with his console to say anything. Charlie pushed away from the hemp and staggered over too his other cousins, Emily and Silena right behind him.

"What's the play?" Ethan said in a calm voice.

Charlie glanced at him. "Trying to think of one right now."

"Okay, no pressure," Zack said hesitantly. "but that thing's getting closer."

They all turned to look at where Zack was pointing and gave various surprised curses. Charlie bit his lip as he glanced around, only vaguely hearing his mother start shouting.

"How did it get so close?" Annabeth hollered.

"I don't know!" Hedge yelled angrily, searching for his baseball bat.

"I'm stupid!" Leo scolded himself. "Stupid, stupid! I forgot the sonar!"

All while this was happening, the ship continued to tilt back and forth causing everyone to scramble to stay standing. Hazel particularly looked like she was about to hurl.

"Sonar?" Hedge hollered, whipping around to stare at Leo. "Pans pipes, Valdez! Maybe if you hadn't been staring into Hazel's eyes, holding hands for so long-"

" _What_?" Frank yelped.

Charlie gave raised eyebrow at the new information and turned to look at Emily. She caught his look and correctly interpreted it.

"Shared flashback. We saw Mom pre Gaea and met Sammy, who did actually have a disturbingly creepy likeness to Uncle Leo. So much so that they honestly could've been identical twins."

"Huh," was all Charlie could say as he shared looks with rest of his cousins before turning his attention back to the 'Shrimpzilla' as Percy had dubbed it.

"It wasn't like that!" Hazel snapped, throwing Hedge a glare.

"It doesn't matter!" Piper intervened. "Jason, can you call some lightning?"

Jason slowly rolled to his feet. "I-" He could only shake his head. Obviously the storm had taken it out of him.

Charlie gave a low curse. "Lena, can you-?"

She eyed the monster for second before shrugging. "I'll give it a whirl."

"Only you," Charlie muttered in amusement as he watched her almost saunter up to the monster.

"Hey, ugly!" Silena shouted for the monsters attention. "Yeah, look at me, fatty."

Shrimpzilla did not take kindly to that insult. It roared as it turned its attention towards the granddaughter of Jupiter. She simply smirked at it as she held out her hand.

"Say cheese," Silena said with a smile, mockingly sweet.

The monster seemed to give a confused air right before a bolt of lightning came down from the sky, hitting the creature square in the face.

Silena stumbled back toward them and Ethan instinctively grabbed her before she fell. She groaned and leaned into him. Charlie saw Piper glance worriedly in their direction out of the corner of his eye.

"All right, I did my part." Silena muttered tiredly.

"Nice job, Lena." Charlie told her before turning back to the now deeply enraged Shrimpzilla.

"Percy! Charlie!" Annabeth yelled. "Can either of you two _talk_ to this thing? What does it want?"

The Jackson men shared a look and shook their heads in unison. "Maybe it's just curious about the ship. Maybe-"

Percy didn't get to finish that sentence.

The monsters tendrils swept threw across the deck almost faster than Charlie could see. One slammed into Percy's sternum and sent him crashing down the stairs. Another wrapped itself around Piper's legs and dragged her, screaming as high-pitched as she could go, toward the rail.

"Mom!" Silena shouted, seemingly reenergized, breaking out of Ethan's arms to chase after her. Ethan swore and took off after her, the two working together to keep Piper on deck.

"Charlie," Zack said. "What do we do."

It was at this point where Charlie would later curse loudly and bitch about his entire family being insane. Because at this moment Lily and Leo had managed to make a plan together only through looks. Somedays Charlie hated his whole family's stupid 'telepathy thing' as various people had called it. It made it a whole lot easier to make stupid plans.

Charlie sighed. "I don't kn- "

Leo cut him off. "Hazel! That box! Open it!"

Hazel looked around her before spotting the box he was talking about. The label read **Warning. Do Not Open.**

"Open it," Leo continued to yell. "Coach, take the wheel! Turn us toward the monster, or we'll capsize."

Charlie frowned at the box, wondering why it looked so familiar when it suddenly hit him like a brick. He whipped around to scream at his uncle.

"Uncle Leo, are you _insane_!" he yelled loudly. "If one of those breaks on the ship this entire thing goes up!"

"We'll be fine!" he hollered back before shouting at Frank. "Frank! Buy us some time! Can you turn into a shark or something?"

Frank, in what was a highly idiotic move to Charlie, glanced over at Leo and scowled. In that moment a tentacle slammed into the son of Mars, knocking him overboard.

Hazel and Emily screamed. Charlie raced over to where he was and leapt over the side, diving into the water as he ignored the various "No, Charlie!" behind him.

He hit the water and immediately started pumping his legs, searching for a floating, hopefully still alive Frank Zhang.

He found him twenty seconds later, with a man hovering over him waving a dagger in his face. Charlie swam toward him faster and tried waving for attention.

The man turned and made a face at him, making a gesture with his dagger. Charlie was only momentarily confused before what like the hilt of a sword was brought down on the top of his head.

His vision blurred for a few seconds as he jerked away from his attacker. He was too dazed to realize that the other man had swam up behind him and slammed him with the hilt of his dagger as well.

Charlie understandably blacked out after that.

 _OoOoOo_

Charlie gave a groan as he woke up, his head feeling like it had just gone two rounds with a whack-a-mole bat.

"Charlie, you're awake!" Lily's voice came from his left, relief clear in her tone.

"Yup," he muttered, lightly touching the back of his head with a wince. "and wishing I wasn't."

Lily gained a concerned look. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Charlie breathed a sigh before curiously glancing around them as he pushed himself to his feet, giving Frank a nod when he saw him. "Where are we?"

They were in a cave of some sort. Moss covered the ceiling, making the room glow with a blue and green hue. The was completely covered in sea urchins and the room was completely filled with water. As he scanned the room he noticed Leo passed out a foot or two away from him. The only thing that gave him pause was seeing Lily and Frank floating in the water, seemingly weightless.

'Okay, that's a little odd.' Charlie thought as he refocused on the two of them.

Lily and Frank shared a tired look before Lily spoke up. "We don't know. The fish-horse people grabbed us when we fell in the ocean. They took Aunt Hazel about forty-five minutes ago."

"Damn," Charlie muttered in response as he patted his pockets down. "Took our weapons too?"

The two of them nodded and Frank gestured at his pants pocket. "Even managed to cancel out Riptides magic. It never returned to your pocket."

"Well, this is just perfect." Charlie groaned. Then he eyed Lily for a second in confusion. "Firecracker, not that I'm not glad you're here, but _why_ are you here?"

To Charlie endless amusement Lily proceeded to blush in embarrassment and rub the back of her neck.

"Um, when Dad and Aunt Hazel blew up the monster I fell in with them?" Lily offered sheepishly.

"Uh huh," Charlie said, unconvinced and giving her a raised eyebrow. "and why did you fall in?"

She attempted to scuff her foot on the ground, mumbling something incoherently. Charlie cleared his throat authoritatively, crossing his arms and patiently waiting for here to tell him.

"Uggggg fine," she grumbled with a pout. "I may have tripped over the box of Greek fire and gone overboard."

Charlie snickered at her immediately. "Nice job, Firecracker."

She sent him a glare. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, Discount Spongebob."

He stopped laughing instantly. "Hey! Take that back, you Pyromaniac!"

"Oh, you did _not_ just call me that." She snapped, taking a step forward.

"Better believe it," he retorted back, mirroring her movement.

"Enough." Frank boomed, stepping between the two as he gave them a parental look. "Knock it off. This isn't going to help us get out of here."

"Okay," they muttered in unison, sulking quietly.

"Good, now Charlie, can you use your powers to get us out of here?" Frank refocused their attention back onto escaping.

Charlie frowned and concentrated on the water surrounding them. He gave a sigh as it failed to listen to him, not obeying him at all.

"It's like the aquarium," Charlie explained. "Someone else has power over it, and they are a lot stronger than me."

"Then I guess we wait for Dad to wake up." Lily said, pulling her knees up to her chest, floating in the air.

The two conscious males agreed and pulled their legs up into similar positions. Ten minutes flew by without a single appearance from their captors, the three of them exchanging stories of what happened to them when Leo started waking up.

He gave slight moan and lifted his head, his eyes barely open. "Wha' 'appened?" he murmured, barely audible

"About time you woke up." Frank grumbled, suddenly hostile as Leo sat up slowly. "Charlie got hit in the head twice by a fish-horse guy and he woke up before you."

Charlie and Lily exchanged confused and slightly pissed off looks. Why was he so pissy?

"Where are we?" Leo asked, ignoring Frank's dig at him. "Where is everyone else?"

" _Everyone_?" Frank continued in his grumpy tone. "I don't know. As far as I can tell, it's just you, me, Hazel, Charlie and Lily down here. The fish-horse guys took Hazel an hour ago."

Lily gave a wave when her father looked at her and Charlie sent him a nod similar to the one he gave Frank when he woke up.

Leo studied them and seemed to realize they were weaponless, his hands flying to his waist to check for his tool belt.

"They searched us, Dad." Lily told him. "Took anything that could be a weapon."

"Who?" Leo demanded. "Who are these fish-horse-?"

"Fish-horse guys," Frank supplied. "They grabbed us when we fell in the ocean and dragged us…wherever here is"

Leo had a look of dread on his face. "The shrimp monster. The _Argo ll_ \- is the ship okay?"

"I don't know," Frank glared at Leo. "The others might be in trouble or hurt or- or worse. But I guess you care more about your ship than your friends."

Leo jerked back he had been slapped, staring at Frank with hurt and disbelief. "What kind of stupid thing-?"

"Oh, I have had enough of this." Charlie snapped, feeling a familiar anger wash over him.

Frank whipped around to face him as Charlie floated towards him and glared darkly. "Wha-?" Was all he got out before Charlie cut him off.

"I don't care what kind of inferiority complex you have right now, that's crossing a line. You know Uncle Leo doesn't hook up with Aunt Hazel. Lily and Emily are proof of that. So, get off your high horse and stop being such a fucking asshole to him or I _will_ kick the shit out of you." Charlie practically exploded.

Frank backed up into the wall and nodded hurriedly. "Got it."

Charlie heaved a sigh, feeling guilty at the fear he saw. "Look, I'm sorry about the threat. It's just…I'm very protective over my family and Leo hasn't done anything to get this kind of treatment from you. The most he's done is tease and he does that to everybody, even my mom."

Frank nodded his head, a glimpse of shame passing over his features. "Sorry,"

"I am too," Leo spoke up behind Charlie. "I'm sorry I got us into this mess. I totally jacked things up."

"No, it's not." Lily insisted, sitting next to her dad. "I should have come up to check that it was on. We both forgot about it."

Leo gave a lopsided smile. "Thanks, _carino_." He turned back to Frank. "Me and Hazel holding hands…it's not what you think. She was showing me and Emily this flashback from her past, trying to figure out my connection with Sammy."

Frank lost the angry look only for it to be replaced with a curious one. "Did you figure it out?"

"Yeah," Leo sat up straighter, a serious expression on his face. "Well, sort of. We didn't get a chance to talk about it afterward because of Shrimpzilla, but Sammy was my great-grandfather."

Frank stared at him in shock. Leo gave a barely there smile and began telling them the story. As he told it, Charlie couldn't help but shake his head. Even though he had heard this story a thousand times, it never ceased to amaze him.

"Oh, man," Leo said after he finished the story, apparently in shock. "I don't feel so good. But I swear on the Styx, that's what we saw."

Frank continued to gawk at him. "Hazel…Hazel liked your _great-grandfather_? That's why she likes you?"

"Frank, I know this is weird. _Believe_ _me_ , I know. But I don't like Hazel- not that way. I'm not moving in on your girl."

Frank searched his expression. "No?"

Leo shook his head. "No. Besides, I'm apparently going to meet Lily's mom on this quest. So, what reason would I have to chase after Hazel?"

Frank had the decency to look embarrassed as he conceded to Leo's point. Charlie personally felt slightly insulted that all it took was for Leo to tell him that once and Charlie had been trying to get him to see that for like two days! 'Stupid, stubborn Romans.' Charlie grumbled mentally.

"Right, so…" Leo changed the topic before it got weird. "We need to make a plan. How are we breathing? If we're under the ocean, shouldn't everyone but Charlie be crushed by the water pressure?"

Frank gave a shrug. "Fish-horse magic, I guess. I remember the green guy touching my head with the point of a dagger. Then I could breath."

Leo stayed quiet for a few seconds, thinking hard from the look of his expression. "Can you bust us out? Turn into a hammerhead shark or something?"

Frank shook his head glumly. "My shapeshifting doesn't work. I don't know why. Maybe they cursed me, or maybe I'm too messed up to focus."

Leo nodded than looked at Charlie. "I'm assuming your powers don't because we'd be out of here by now if they did."

Charlie nodded. "Hit it on the nose."

"Great," Leo muttered before raising his voice. "Hazel could be in trouble. We've got to get out of here."

"I've already tried," Frank said. "Even if we get out, we have no weapons."

"Hmm…" Leo had curious look on his face that spelled trouble. "I wonder."

He held up his and lit it on fire. For second everything was fine. Then the fire spread over his entire body.

Charlie and Lily raced forward instantly, shouting. "Dad/Uncle Leo!" while Frank flailed and pressed himself to the wall as far as he could. "Leo!"

Leo seemed to take breath and force calm over himself. A second later and he had extinguished the flames surrounding him. Lily immediately threw herself at him in a hug, Leo catching her easily.

"Uncle Leo, are you okay?" Charlie asked him worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He nodded before glaring at Frank. "Thanks for the assist, dude."

"I- I'm sorry." Frank had an ashamed look on his face. "I just…what happened?"

"Clever magic," Leo said, reluctantly impressed. "There's a thin layer of oxygen around us, like a second skin. Must be self-regenerating. That's how were breathing and staying dry. The oxygen gave the fire fuel- except the fire also suffocated me."

"I really don't…" Frank gulped eyeing Leo like he'd burst into flames any second. "I really don't like that fire summoning you do."

Leo gave a tired laugh. "Man, I'm not going to attack you."

"Fire," was all Frank said.

Leo fell silent, looking at Frank and studying him. "I'm sorry I laughed. My died in a fire. I understand being afraid of it. Did, uh…did something like that happen to you?"

Charlie and Lily glanced at each other and silently agreed to keep out of this conversation, content to be observers.

"My house…my grandmother's place. It burned down. But it's more than that…" Frank hesitantly said. "Annabeth said I could trust the crew. Even you."

"Even me, huh?" Leo looked at him intently. "Wow, high praise."

"My weakness…" Frank started, the words coming out slowly. "There's this piece of firewood-"

Frank was interrupted by the opening of the door to their cell. Charlie had to admit, Frank's name for them was pretty spot on.

"I am Bythos," the green one third man, one third horse, one third fish thing said. "I will interrogate Frank Zhang."

Charlie's hackles rose. "How do you know his name?" He was ignored but Leo quickly followed up with more questions.

"Why did you capture us?" Leo demanded, standing in front of Lily slightly. "Where's Hazel?"

Bythos narrowed his eyes at him. "You, Leo Valdez, will go with my brother."

"Your brother?"

"Yes," Bythos said with a tight smile. "Try not to make Aphros mad."

"And what about us two?" Lily questioned, shifting restlessly.

Bythos eyed her dismissively. "Lillian Valdez and Charles Jackson will see Cythos, our sister."

Charlie's worry ratcheted up higher on the scale when Bythos's amusement seemed to grow.

"Try to survive." Bythos said with what Charlie though was humor. "She's not very happy right now."

 **Hello my lovelies! I'm so sorry this is late! But I was slightly busy and I had no clue what to do for this chapter. So, I took a few extra days, plotted out what I wanted to do and then promptly wrote for five straight hours.**

 **I do have an announcement though, I'm going to be changing the schedule to one chapter a week and just make them a little longer for you guys. I'm really sorry but it's surprisingly stressful trying to get two chapter out a week that are actually good for you guys.**

 **Anyway, I will be posting on either Thursday nights or Friday mornings. SO, hope you liked the chapter! See you guys next week!**

 **Check back on Friday for Chapter Twenty Eight! Comic out!**

 **P.s I have a quick question for you guys. Who's your favorite OC in this story? Let me know in your reviews!**

DarkHero12- _The Kids do know about the Leo/Sammy relation, they just assumed the parents were exaggerating the likeness between the two. And at this point in time the only Parents who even know who Sammy is are Hazel, Frank and maybe Percy. Thanks for the review!_

RosettaQueen20- _You would like the angst. :P Thank you for all the complements! You are awesome! See you next chapter!_

Didi- _Of course I'm gonna give you credit! You deserve it! Father and Daughter bonding time has actually been on my list to write for Missing Moments for a while. I'll let you know when I post it! I actually have a plan involving Lily getting to see her Grandmother and Great-Grandfather for the first time. I think you guys will like it as it's going to be kind of emotional. I brought Emily because with the sarcastic disposition I gave her, I thought it would give it some humor. Tell me how your friend found the story to be! Did she like it? Dislike it? Let me know!_

EspeonAuraGirl55- _Thanks! I like to mix POV's sometimes to freshen things up some and let you get to know my other OC's better. I think Uncle Rick was being all philosophical by it being like 'Here's where Leo and Hazel's destiny began to intertwine and such.'. At least that's my opinion on it. I will definitely check out some of your stories! They sound interesting!_


	28. A New Alliance Is Formed

**(Charlie POV)**

Cythos was not pretty, not in the slightest. Her top half was human like her brother, a thin, almost skeletal, barely clothed chest and stomach. Her skin was teal, with a long scar running down her bicep. She had long brown hair, down to her waist, pulled into a loose braid over her shoulder. A pair of lobster claws stuck up from her forehead like devil horns, twisting and snapping at random.

From the waist down she had the forelegs of a teal horse that looked strong and healthy, the total opposite of her upper half, that reminded Charlie of a centaur. Toward the back her body morphed into a long fish tail about eight feet long, with a blue, purple, green and yellow, V-shaped tail fin.

Charlie didn't think he was going to like this meeting.

Cythos met them in a big amphitheater with an annoyed expression and a crisp "Follow me," before turning and floating through a convenient doorway.

Charlie and Lily exchanged dubious glances but did as they were told.

The three of them floated along for almost a quarter of a mile and stopped near an open cave with what Charlie thought was a see-through, shimmering clothe in front of it.

Their fish-horse lady escort walked right in after throwing a glare over her shoulder and ushering them in.

Charlie and Lily continued to follow her, despite the chills running down Charlie's spine the longer they did.

Walking into the cave, Charlie was startled to realize that there was yet another picture of their siblings. It was similar to the last photo, depicting their siblings in a smallish cage with Louis and Zoe shackled to the ground while Gemma and Gabriela were allowed to roam around their small prison. The twins were being held by Louis and Zoe. Alejandro was being held tightly by Zoe and Louis was clutching Andre as tight as he could without hurting the seven month old.

Louis and Zoe faced the camera head on, glaring as darkly as they could which was further framed by their dirt covered faces. Gabby was huddled into Zoe's side, shying away from the camera, a bruise Charlie could just barely see blossoming over her left cheekbone. Gemma was next to Louis and had her head leaned on his should, seeming to barely be awake with her eyes sunken slightly into her head.

Louis and Zoe however seemed to be the worst off. Louis had gauze wrapped around his forearm that seemed completely bled through and had a black eye. Zoe's leg seemed to broken from the makeshift tourniquet they had managed to throw together while her lip was split open and her right temple had nasty bruise on it.

They only ones that seemed remotely cared for were the twins, wrapped up in thick blankets.

Charlie trembled with anger as he stared at the picture, burning the image into his mind before turning away and taking a deep breath, coldly forcing back the rage. It wouldn't help him in this situation.

He looked at Cythos and gritted his teeth. "Where did you get this?"

Anger glittered in her eyes. "A blonde legacy came to our kingdom and killed one of our guards. She made her way to me and gave me this scar. Told me to give this to a Charlie Jackson."

"Payton," Lily seethed next to him. "That little-" she cut herself off, clenching her jaw tightly.

Cythos raised a cold eyebrow. "Is that the assassin's name?"

Charlie nodded, smirking without a drop of humor. "Payton Lewis, a legacy of both Apollo and Hermes. She's from the future, like us."

Their interrogator gave a seemingly grateful nod. "Thank you for telling us the name of our enemy. Should we cross paths again, she will not escape."

Charlie's smirk widened and became malicious. "Do whatever you want to her. So long as it's painful."

"It will excruciatingly so." Cythos looked at him with a new light, murky respect in her grass-green eyes. Then her expression went thoughtful. "You are from the future you say?"

"Yes, ma'am." Lily said. "We came back to make sure Tartarus doesn't have a leak in its wall."

Cythos hummed in thought. "You sound truthful, but it's hard to believe that Tartarus would have a 'leak' as you said. How can I trust you?"

"Because I swear on the River Styx." Charlie informed her, confidence in every line.

Cythos waited patently for him to suddenly just drop dead. When he didn't, she gave a real smile. "Well," she purred. "that's interesting, grandson of the sea."

"How do you know-" Lily began to ask suspiciously but Cythos interrupted her.

"Creatures under the power of the sea," she started to explain, regarding Lily with a careful look. "can _always_ tell who carries the blood of Poseidon. Like your friend, Frank Zhang."

"Okay," Charlie said slowly. "if you could answer just one question then. What do you want from us?"

Cythos became more serious, a feat that Charlie thought was impossible. "It's simple Mr. Jackson. We want blood, and you can help us get it."

"From Payton, you mean." Lily said, a look of dawning understanding blooming across her face. "Because we can get to her and you can't."

Cythos inclined her head in confirmation. Charlie's thoughts raced a mile a minute as he puzzled out this new information.

"When we rescue our siblings," He started saying, catching their hostesses eye. "you want us to contact you so that you can kill Payton while we get our siblings out."

Cythos smiled happily. "You are intelligent, far more than I would have expected."

"Yeah," Charlie gave a smirk. "you can thank my mother for that one."

Cythos nodded before extending out her hand. "Do we have an accord?"

Charlie and Lily exchanged looks and silently agreed with the other before turning back to Cythos. "I believe we do." Charlie put his hand out and they shook.

"To new alliances." Cythos looked self-satisfied as they ended the hand shake.

"To new alliances." Charlie and Lily echoed as one, both smirking now as they confirmed their shared interests.

Cythos kept her smile as she leaned back and studied them. "Now then, what's your story?"

 _OoOoOo_

They met back up with the Parents on a ridge. Hazel and Leo looked to be in some sort of deep conversation when the three of them swam up, Frank right behind them with Aphros and Bythos.

"You are free to go." Bythos said as he rummaged through his saddlebags and returned their confiscated supplies. Charlie happily took Riptide and stuck it in his pocket while Lily slipped her dagger back into its holster on her thigh. The Parents seemed to share their glee at seeing their prized weapons.

"Tell Percy Jackson not to worry." Aphros said. "We have understood your story about the imprisoned sea creatures in Atlanta. Keto and Phorcys must be stopped. We will send a quest of mer-heros to defeat them and free their captives. Perhaps Cyrus?"

"Or Bill," Bythos happily offered.

"Yes! Bill would be perfect," Aphros beamed at his brother while Cythos rolled her eyes in the background. "At any rate, we are grateful that Percy brought this to our attention."

"And we are also grateful," Cythos smoothly cut in. "for the information you have provide us about our shared enemy, Mr. Jackson and Miss. Valdez."

The two that were addressed nodded back with Lily speaking. "We will be sure to contact you when we find her, so that you may have your revenge."

The three shared vicious smiles with each other, freaking out those surrounding them. Leo was the first to shake off the creepy feeling he was getting from them.

"You should talk to him in person," Leo suggested to their former captors. "I mean, son of Poseidon, and all."

The three of them shook their heads, Aphros explaining why. "Sometimes it is best not to interact with Poseidon's blood. We are friendly with the sea god, of course; but the politics of undersea deities is…complicated. And we value our independence. Nevertheless, tell Percy thank you. We will do what we can to speed you safely across the Atlantic without further interference from Keto's monsters, but be warned: in the ancient sea, the Mare Nostrum, more dangers await."

Frank heaved a big sigh. "Naturally."

Bythos clapped a hand to Frank's shoulder, painfully from Frank's wince. "You will be fine Frank Zhang. Keep practicing those sea life transformations. The koi fish is good, but try for a Portuguese man-of-war. Remember what I showed you. It's all in the breathing."

Charlie couldn't help but snicker quietly at Frank embarrassed expression. Lily smacked him on the shoulder, all the while biting her lip so that she wouldn't smile.

"And you, Hazel," Aphros turned to his next victim. "come visit again, and bring that horse of yours! I know you are concerned about the time you lost, spending the night in our realm. You are worried about your brother, Nico…"

Hazel gripped her cavalry sword for comfort. "Is he…do you know where he is?"

Aphros shook his head mournfully. "Not exactly. But when you get closer, you should be able to sense his presence. Never fear! You must reach Rome the day after tomorrow if you are to save him, but there is still time. And you _must_ save him."

"Yes," Bythos agreed. "He will be essential for your journey. I am not sure how, but I sense it is true."

Aphros laid a gentle hand on Leo's shoulder. "As for you, Leo Valdez, stay close to Hazel and Frank when you reach Rome. I sense they will face…ah, _mechanical_ difficulties that only you can overcome."

Leo gave a confused look. "Mechanical difficulties?" he asked.

Aphros smiled at him and moved the conversation along. "And I have gifts for you, the brave navigator of the _Argo ll!"_

"I like to think of myself as captain," Leo corrected him, to Charlie and Lily's amusement. "Or supreme commander."

"Brownies!" Aphros said proudly, shoving a picnic basket into Leo's unsuspecting arms. "In this basket you will also find the recipe. Not too much butter! That's the trick. And I've given you a letter of introduction to Tiberinus, the god of the Tiber River. Once you reach Rome, your friend the daughter of Athena will need this."

"Annabeth…" Leo said. "Okay, why?"

Bythos laughed as if it were a silly question. "She follows the mark of Athena, doesn't she? Tiberinus can guide her in this quest. He's an ancient, proud god who can be…difficult; but letters of introduction are everything to Roman spirits. This will convince Tiberinus to help her. Hopefully."

"Hopefully," Leo repeated incredulity, glancing at the picnic basket in his hands.

Cythos nodded before turning to Lily and Charlie. "Be safe, my allies. We will meet again soon."

They inclined their heads back and repeated the sentiment back to her. Afterward Bythos pulled out five small, pink pearls from his saddlebags.

"And now, off with you, demigods and legacies! Good sailing!" he said with a flourish. He threw a pearl at each of them, and five shimmering pink bubbles of energy formed around them.

They began to rise through the water. Charlie locked eyes with Cythos one last time and gave a final, respectful nod to his new partner. He received one back just as he was shot through the water.

This was gonna be fun.

 **So! This chapter we see the Kids gain a new ally, Payton continue to further taunt them, and also gain a powerful enemy. She also commits a murder and proves to not give any regard to intelligent life, human or otherwise. Yowzah!**

 **Hope you liked this chapter! Check back next Friday for chapter Twenty Nine! Comic out!**

RosettaQueen20- _Thank you! I'm glad you understand why I'm lowering how many chapters I put out a week. I was kind of afraid you guys would yell at me. You will have another on Friday, promise! Is Charlie your favorite OC of mine then? Please let me know! I feel you, as cliché as this story is, at least it's not as cliché as a pregnant Annabeth after the giant war._

EspeonAuraGirl55- _Thanks! I'm glad so many people like Charlie! I was slightly afraid people wouldn't like him, or any of my OC's really. Yeah, actually getting more than three-to-four days at a time to get chapters out helps a lot with the creative process. See you next Friday!_

Didi- _I'm sure she will. Can you tell me her screen name? Charlie does have a potty mouth, and it actually came from the Athena cabin as a whole. I don't know why but I always imagine them to have the mouths of sailors whenever something goes wrong or someone pisses them off. Charlie's fatal flaw is that he will always do whatever it will take to keep his family safe, even if it means threatening bodily harm on family members who are acting stupid in his mind. He also has a wicked temper. Silena and Ethan usually keep it on a leash for him though. Percy and Emily get along really well, so Emily just adopted Percy's sass as she grew up. I'm so happy you like my OC's! *Squeals Happily* Hope you have a good week too!_

Guest- _I will actually be explaining Ethan and Zack's powers and how they got adopted by their respective parents in a chapter or two. So, don't worry! You'll know soon. You'll have to wait and see about the Tartarus thing but I can assure you, there'll be plenty of Percabeth moments to look forward too. Thank you for reviewing! Hope you continue to like the story!_

LeoValdez557- _Don't worry, honey. I plan on making a trilogy out of this. I'm not going anywhere. Thank you for that compliment! I always hate it when some of my favorite stories are ruined because the author made the character do some cringy thing that nobody in real life would actually do._


	29. A Story Of Adoption

**(Charlie POV)**

It would seem Piper and Percy had missed them because the moment the five of them popped to the surface and hollered for their attention the two of them lept off the boat and into the water.

Piper immediately swam over to Leo and Lily, kissing Leo on the cheek and holding onto Lily with a death grip that was happily reciprocated.

Percy however swam straight over to Charlie and hugged him tightly, kissing the top of his head a couple times.

"Don't you _ever_ do something like that again, you hear me?" Percy demanded, eyes wide with relief as he held Charlie's face in his hands. "You scared the shit out of me!"

Charlie blinked in shock at the demand but automatically nodded his head as much as he could. "Got it, Dad."

Percy gave a relieved sigh as he let go of Charlie's face. "Come on, let's get you in the boat. Your mom has been wearing a hole in the floor for the last nine hours."

The second Charlie got on the boat he was tackled with a hug from his mother. She kissed his forehead and tightly gripped his shoulders as she mumbled "Thank the gods, you're okay."

Then she pulled away and glared at him, rather terrifyingly. Charlie instantly cowered under his mother's angry look, slouching down and ducking his head as he cringed.

"Charles Lucas Jackson," Annabeth said through gritted teeth. "if you ever do something like that again, you will be grounded till you're fifty. Understand?"

Charlie nodded his head hurriedly, not wishing to be under his mother's glare any longer. Percy let him suffer for a few more seconds before laying his hand on his future wife's shoulder.

"Annabeth," Percy said gently, the corner of his mouth twitching as if he was holding back a laugh. "I think he gets it. You can stop terrifying him now."

Annabeth huffed but nodded. She stepped forward and hugged Charlie again, this time letting him breath. "I'm so glad you're okay, sweetie." She brushed his slightly damp bangs off his forehead as she slowly let go of him.

Charlie gave her a lopsided grin. "Me too, Mom."

Silena stepped up next as Annabeth fully stepped away, punching his arm. "Nice going, Spongebob."

Charlie rubbed his arm and gave her a pout. "This is abuse, Lena. We have an abusive relationship."

Silena laughed at that as she finally hugged him. "You love me anyway,"

Charlie heaved a sigh, as if it was a great burden. "Yes, yes I do."

Jason smiled from his position next to a soaking wet Piper as he finished hugging an equally soaked Lily. "Come on, let's get you guys dried off. Then you can tell us what happened."

 _OoOoOo_

After Leo, Hazel and Frank finished their of the story, Lily and Charlie had told everyone about their encounter with the merpeople. Charlie had been able to take the photo of the siblings and had passed it around the room, everyone's tempers flaring as they looked at picture.

As expected it brought the mood down considerably. It got his dad to stop complaining about not getting to meet the merpeople though.

"So," Piper said coldly as she glared at the photo currently in Ethan's hands. "Payton killed a merperson, managed to attack your new ally, and left a picture for us of your younger siblings. One that shows all of them but the twins hurt in some way."

"Yep," Lily said, arms crossed with a pissed off look on her face.

"She's going to die." Percy said in a calm tone that didn't match the murderous look in his eyes. "Someone at this table is going to kill her."

Mumbled agreements went around the room as everyone seemed to glare darkly at the picture. Twenty seconds went by before Zack cleared his throat.

"So, Cythos is going to back us up on our rescue?" He asked, looking specifically at Charlie.

Charlie nodded, smirking as he did. "Yeah, told us to call for her when we find Payton. Gave me this." Charlie reached into his jacket and pulled out a small conch shell.

"Apparently, if any of us blow into that Cythos will hear and dispatch her warriors to meet up with us and help rescue our siblings while going after Payton." Lily explained as Charlie held it up for everyone to see before putting it back in his jacket pocket.

"Hey, kids." Frank frowned in thought. "Where are your siblings going to go anyway? We can't exactly bring them along."

"Cythos is going to help with that, too." Charlie said, leaning back in his chair. "Once we rescue them, the warriors will take the little ones back to camp and give them to Uncle Will. I figured Zack could send him a dream message, letting him know about it."

The parents around the room relaxed as they heard the plan, relieved they wouldn't have their younger kids around for the whole quest. Charlie could relate, after all it was dangerous for the kids already onboard and they were all twelve and older. Louis was the oldest out of the siblings and he was only six.

Everyone was quiet for short time soaking in the information before Percy, who like Charlie, couldn't stand awkward silences asked a question nobody had asked yet.

"Um, Zack and Ethan, you two said you were adopted, right?" He hesitantly asked.

The two boys nodded as Ethan spoke. "Our siblings were as well."

"How exactly did that happen?" Percy asked, slightly confused. "I mean you don't see a lot of adopted demigods."

"Well, Ethan and I were actually adopted at the same time. We were orphaned by the same thing as well." Zack said, leaning his elbows on the table.

Everyone looked interested in the story, the parents especially. "How?" Piper asked, running a hand through Silena's hair.

"Well, it started like this." Ethan began.

 _(Start Flashback)_

 _Reyna and Nico were walking around Camp Half-Blood before a meeting with Chiron and Annabeth. They were going to be discussing if it would okay to create a permanent portal between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. The four of them were on the fence about it because it meant there would be an open doorway between both camps, and if one got over run there wouldn't be anyway to shut the portal off._

 _So, Reyna and Nico were having a walk through the woods, discussing the topic one more time before getting into the meeting when a sudden scream had them both tensing._

" _That sounds like a child." Reyna said worriedly as the two darted off toward the scream._

" _I know," Nico grimaced, forcing his legs to pump harder._

 _They broke through the brush and skidded to a halt upon witnessing the horrifying scene in front of them._

 _A brown haired woman in what looked to be her early twenties was laying on the ground, eyes open wide and unseeing, her stomach cut completely open. A sobbing toddler, no more than three, was right beside her, covered in blood. The toddler, a boy, wasn't bleeding anywhere or appear to have any wounds. The blood covering the poor child seemed to be the woman's, his own mother from the look of it._

 _Three feet away from the heart-breaking scene was another one. This time it was a couple on the ground but had child in between their bodies. This woman was a redhead and appeared to have been stabbed through the heart while the black haired man next to her, her husband, had his throat slashed. The child, again a boy, looked like he was a year older than the other boy. This child wasn't sobbing hysterically but was blankly staring at the ground in between his parents, his breaths coming shallowly._

 _Reyna and Nico shared horrified looks before dashing to the kids, Nico going to the younger one while Reyna jogged to the older one._

 _Nico crouched down next to the blood covered toddler and soothingly spoke. "Hey, kiddo. It's okay, you're gonna be okay."_

 _The child looked at him and cried louder. Nico shifted and slowly put his hands around the kids upper body, picking him up and holding him to Nico's chest. The child sobbed harder but curled himself into the son of Hades, his tiny fists clutching at his black shirt._

 _Nico shifted his hold and rubbed his hand down the toddlers back as he stood. He quietly murmured reassurances to the child as he rocked back and forth on his heels._

 _While this was happening Reyna had already picked up the older toddler, who after being lifted from his parents, began crying silently as he buried his face in Reyna's collarbone, sobs racking through his tiny frame._

" _Nico," Reyna spoke softly as she stepped toward him. "We need to get them out of here."_

 _Nico gave a grim nod and shifted his hold again, putting out his right hand for Reyna to take. The moment she did, he pulled them into their own shadows, reappearing at the infirmary._

 _Will, who was on shift, sucked in a sharp breath when he saw his husband and friend appear from the shadows._

" _Oh my gods, what happened?" He asked as he made his way over, looking worriedly at the still crying toddlers._

" _We don't know." Nico said grimly. "We found them like this in the woods, next to their parents."_

" _Are the parents…?" Will started asking, trailing off before he finished his question._

 _Reyna shook her head. "They're gone. There was nothing we could do for them."_

 _Will gave a saddened look at the kids before gaining a serious look, spinning around to face Austin and Kayla, two of his siblings on duty with him, who had stayed back as they watched with horrified expressions._

" _Kayla, Austin, you two go with Nico. Bring them back here for a proper burial." Will ordered, glaring at them when they didn't move quick enough._

 _Nico instantly passed Will the toddler in his arms before grabbing the two children of Apollo by the arm and shadow traveling back to the horrifying scene._

 _Will carefully rocked the child in his arms and looked Reyna in despair. "What are we going to do?"_

 _Reyna seemed to debate with herself before coming to a decision. She lifted her chin defiantly and tightened her grip on the child clinging to her for dear life._

" _We take care of them. It's all we can do." She said with a tone of finality._

 _(End Flashback)_

"…..Afterwards Uncle Nico and Uncle Will adopted Zack and my mom adopted me. We've been part of the family ever since." Ethan finished explaining.

"Oh, you poor babies." Hazel said, sounding horrified.

Zack and Ethan shrugged together. "Ethan and I don't actually remember any of that. Any memories we had before our fifth birthdays are really hazy. I don't remember a time before having Dad and Papa being my parents." Zack said with a nonchalant tone.

"Same for me," Ethan agreed. "My mom has always been just that, my mom."

"Well, it's still incredibly sad and heartbreaking." Piper said firmly.

Zack and Ethan gave agreeing nods but chose to stay silent. Charlie cleared his throat nervously, not liking the sad aura surrounding the room.

"Okay, that was depressing." Emily dryly said, speaking up for the first time. "I don't know about you but I want to change the atmosphere in here. Who wants to play poker?"

And just like that everyone snapped out their depressive states. Leo and Percy gave chuckles while the rest of the parents shook their heads in exasperation.

The kids on the other hand immediately agreed, Zack even shadow traveling to his room to grab two decks of cards.

"So, who's playing?" Charlie grinned impishly as he began shuffling the cards he was handed.

Jason, Hazel and Frank opted out but everyone else eagerly joined in, taunting each other as they were given their cards.

"You're going down, old man." Charlie said cockily, an arrogant smirk on his face.

Percy matched his expression, his green eyes twinkling.

"Bring it, whipper snapper." Percy retorted back.

The two shared an easy smile, happy in that moment in time.

 **Here you are! Chapter Twenty Nine! On schedule too! Hope you enjoyed it!**

RosettaQueen20 _\- Thanks a million! I'm happy you love this so much! Was this enough Angst for you? I know you need your fix of it. :P I honestly can't pick which of my OC's are my favorite too, so don't worry about it. You also got both protective Percy_ and _protective Annabeth this chapter. Are you pleased? Maybe I'll let Percy do that later, seems like it would be amusing to write. See you next Friday!_

EspeonAuraGirl55- _If Charlie hadn't been in Cythos's presence, a lot of things would have been destroyed in his rage. Payton does have some standards, she would probably rather raise the twins on her own and turn them evil then hurt them, but she knows she wouldn't get away with that here. Thanks! I'm glad everyone likes Cythos, because we will be seeing her again later on. Check back next Friday for Chapter Thirty! Thanks for the review!_

Didi- _Thanks! Was Cythos in the books? I don't remember seeing in it, I actually thought her up as an OC but that might have just been my subconscious remembering a name from the book without me realizing. I'm glad you like her though! I wanted to show just how much Payton was other than messing with the Kids, that she actually has other people she's trying to manipulate. That was actually also meant to show off Charlie's Athena side. He mostly acts like Percy so I wanted people to realize that he's deadly with his mind too, I'm glad I did a good job for you guys. Lily is very protective, all the kids are. So expect a lot more death threats and plotting from them. Don't worry about giving me long reviews, I actually like them. They give me more insight into how you feel as a reader of this story and where you want it go. So, go ahead and leave them! I don't mind at all! See you next Friday!_


	30. Silena Becomes A Diplomat For A Day

**Okay, so its been quite a few chapters since I've done this and I felt it was time to do another one. Thusly, I want to say thank you so much to all those below!**

 **Thank you to -** 3Parzival, 45gerardogarcia, a spoonful of spice, Anaklusmos101, angelwing143, Athenian-Ravenclaw-In-A-TARDIS, Ayushmon ,Bone Boy, CursedWeb33, DarkHero12, DiAngelo646, Didi0728, EspeonAuraGirl55, Firebrand1612, , GreecesVeryOwn, lazygod04, M.J. Lyte, MemeReader, Musicromo, New-Zealands-Version-Of-Pluto, newtown54, Percabeth 8531, Phoenix X 2, prasad, RareDarkgon, RosettaQueen20, Ruby2724, Sheniffer, ShiroIsKing1304, St4yG01d, Stormwreckin, viper456, AllDaDamLadiesLuvLeo, BubblePoP1300, Annabeth-JacksonChase, CrazyLich79, DaCatOfAdventure, GallagherGirlx, LiValdez1, Lutz0508, PiperPen, Purpledragon120, THE green Blob, VibiK, as9414413, brownielocks57, camo990, chiquislover25, dioVv, emenem3211, .9, timbo8, yamet7 **– For reading, reviewing, following and favoriting this story! I love you guys!**

 **Special Thanks to** RosettaQueen20, EspeonAuraGirl55, and Didi **for continuing to review every chapter! You three are amazing!**

 **Now, on with the chapter! (Quick disclaimer, the section describing the pillars of Hercules is from MoA! I don't own it, so please don't sue me! I have nothing you would want to sue for anyway!)**

 **(Silena POV)**

Waking up to a ships horn going was not a pleasant way to wake up. In the least.

The moment it went off, Silena and Piper flailed out of bed. The pair scrambled to their and shared 'what the hell' looks before rushing to get dressed, stumbling out of their cabin just in time for the horn to go off again.

Getting up to the deck, Silena was vaguely amused to see that they hadn't been the only ones abruptly woken up.

Frank's shirt was inside out and Percy was wearing pajama pants and a bronze breastplate. Charlie, standing right beside his dad, hadn't even bothered to throw on a shirt and was rubbing at his eyes wearing only a pair of grey sweatpants.

Hazel's hair was blown to one side, matching her daughter's hair to a tee. Leo appeared to have accidently set himself on fire, Lily and Annabeth appeared to have accidently switched shirts without realizing it; and Jason, Zack and Ethan (who had been on guard duty) cracked up when they saw everyone's rough state.

Silena gave the trio a frosty glare before turning her attention to the truly massive cruise ship a hundred yards gliding past them. Tourists cheerfully waved at them, some smiling and taking pictures.

"What the hell was that about?" Lily whined loudly, tiredly yawning afterwards.

"They're just saying hi," Frank soothed, giving his niece an amused look.

Coach Hedge stuck his fingers in his ears. "Do they have to be so loud while doing it?"

The ship finally past them, blowing its horn one final time. Charlie groaned at the loud noise and dropped his head onto his mother's shoulder. Annabeth absently ran her fingers through his hair while watching Leo wave at the cruise ship.

"Bye!" He called out, smoke rising slightly from his raised hand.

"Can I man the ballistae?" Hedge asked with a pleading tone.

Leo threw the satyr a forced smile. "No,"

Hazel yawned, tiredly watching Emily somehow cajole Frank into carrying her piggyback style. "Where are- oh…Wow."

Everyone curiously followed her gaze and gawked. Without the cruise ship blocking their view, a mountain appeared, jutting up from the sea a half a mile away from them. On one side, the limestone cliffs were almost sheer, dropping into the sea over a thousand feet below. On the other side, the mountain sloped into tiers, covered in green forest. Silena saw why her mother said it looked like a sphinx, with a massive white head and chest, with a green cloak over its back.

"The Rock of Gibraltar," Annabeth said in awe, not even acknowledging Charlie lifting his head from her shoulder. "At the tip of Spain. And over there-" She excitedly pointed south. "That must be Africa. We're at the mouth of the Mediterranean."

Piper shivered next to Silena. "What now? Do we just sail in?"

"Why not?" Leo answered flippantly. "It's a big shipping channel. Boats go in and out all the time."

Silena had to admit, Leo had a bit of a point. Annabeth seemed to disagree.

"In the old days, they called this area the pillars of Hercules." Annabeth said, staring straight ahead. "The Rock was supposed to be one pillar. The other was one of the African mountains. Nobody is sure which one."

"Hercules, huh?" Percy arched an eyebrow. "That guy was like the Starbucks of Ancient Greece. Everywhere you turn- there he is."

Zack and Charlie instantly snickered at the comparison, Percy flashing them a toothy smile as they did. Annabeth just rolled her eyes.

The fun was interrupted when a _boom_ shook the _Argo ll._ Silena could feel Piper swallow thickly beside her.

"So, these Pillars of Hercules. Are they dangerous?" Piper hesitantly asked.

Annabeth kept a steady gaze on the white cliffs. "For Greeks, the pillars marked the end of the known world. The Romans said the pillars are inscribed with a Latin warning-"

" _Non plus ultra_ ," Percy and Charlie intoned in unison.

Annabeth gained a stunned look. "Yeah. _Nothing Further Beyond._ How did you know?"

The two pointed. "Because we're looking at it."

Everyone once again looked and gawked. Directly ahead of them, in the middle of the straits, an island had shimmered into existence. Silena traded wide eyed looks with Zack, the both of them agreeing that there had most definitely _not_ been an island there before.

It was a small hill shaped mass of land, covered in forests and ringed with white beaches. Not very impressive compared to Gibraltar, but in front of the island, jutting from the waves were two white Grecian columns as tall as the _Argo's_ masts. Between the columns, huge silver words glittered under water: _NON PLUS ULTRA_.

"Guys, do I turn around?" Leo asked nervously as Lily shifted restlessly behind him. "Or…"

No one gave an answer, mostly because they all caught sight of the same thing. A dark-haired man wearing purple robes with his arms crossed, giving off an unimpressed look that Silena could feel almost a hundred feet away.

Frank inhaled sharply, adjusting his grip on Emily's legs, who was peering over his shoulder. "Could that be- ?"

"Hercules," Jason confirmed. "The most powerful demigod of all time."

The ship inched closer to the pillars.

"Need an answer," Leo urged. "I can turn around, or take off. The stabilizers are working again. But I need to know quick- "

"We have to keep going," Annabeth grimaced, sharing a look with Charlie who nodded at her silent question. "I think he's guarding the straits. If that's really Hercules, sailing or flying away wouldn't do any good. He'll want to talk to us."

"Wouldn't Hercules be on our side?" Piper asked hopefully. "I mean…he's one of us, right?"

Jason scowled. "He was a son of Zeus, but when he died, he became a god. You can never be sure with gods."

Ethan inclined his head in agreement. "Gods will never be 'one of us', Aunt Piper. Either they were born a god or it's so long since they've been turned into one, they've completely forgotten what it was like to be a demigod."

Everyone gave annoyed looks as they thought about how true that statement was.

"Great," Percy grunted. "Thirteen of us against Hercules."

"And a satyr!" Hedge piped up. "We can take him."

Silena caught Charlie giving an eyeroll at the statement and fought not to giggle. It was a hard battle.

"I've got a better idea," Annabeth quickly shut the coach down. "We send ambassadors ashore. A small group- two or three at most. Try to talk with him."

"I'll go," Jason immediately volunteered. "He's a son of Zeus. I'm the son of Jupiter. Maybe he'll be friendly to me."

"Or maybe he'll hate you," Percy helpfully suggested. "Half brothers don't always get along."

Jason gave him a look. "Thank you, Mr. Optimism."

"It's worth a shot," Annabeth firmly cut in, giving the two 'Really?' looks. "At least Jason and Hercules have something in common. And we need our best diplomat. Somebody who's good with words."

Everyone turned to Piper, Silena included. Piper gained an overwhelmed look but admirably shoved it away.

"Fine," she said in a resigned tone. "Just let me change my clothes."

"Lena, you should go, too." Charlie said.

Silena understood instantly. "Got it."

Hazel looked confused. "Why her?"

"Because she's the granddaughter of Jupiter _and_ Aphrodite. Perfect combination for this." Zack answered easily.

Annabeth nodded her head. "Get dressed."

 **Sorry this is a short chapter, I had no idea what I wanted to do for this one, as usual. But next weeks will be longer than usual. Like plus three thousand words, so that'll hopefully make up for this one. Anyway hope you enjoyed! See you all next Friday!**

 **Comic out!**

Didi- _Thanks! So many people have asked for back story on them, I was kinda surprised. I'm glad I'm keeping the Parents realistic, cause they're teenagers but are also parents and I think they are all coming to terms with that. I imagine Annabeth being a bit more strict simply because as rough as Percy has had it, Annabeth grew up more in the world of demigods and thusly knows a lot more about what can kill you. Any parent would terrified of their child getting hurt, demigods more so. You'll see why Zack and Ethan don't remember it later. Reyna and Nico are total softies on the inside, they just have to be around people they trust before they'll show it. Percy's willing to do pretty much anything, and if means spending more time with his son? Then he'll play anything, even poker. See you next week!_

RosettaQueen20- _Trust me I forget ALL the time when I'm supposed to update, especially if I have a busy week. Protective Percabeth is always nice to read. I'm glad to be of service, ma'am. *Tips Cowboy Hat* Thanks for the review!_

EspeonAuraGirl55- _What killed them is actually a HUGE secret that you'll find out later. I think you guys will like it. A lot of you had been asking for it so I finally sat my ass down and wrote it. Took forever, but it was worth it. I didn't realize there was a good way to make people gag so, thanks? I guess? I already have Payton's death planned out. It will be brutal, that's all I will say._

Guest- _Yes, I have read the book. Trials of Apollo and the Magnus Chase books are being ignored until I can fit them into the series. If I do fit them in, and that a BIG if, a lot of things are going to have to change. Thanks for reviewing!_


	31. Hercules Does Not Appreciate Dance

***Clears Throat Awkwardly* Sooooooo, it's been awhile. I don't really have a reason for it, just excuses. Like the fact that I got a boyfriend (Been together over three months now! (Also, yes, I am female to all of those wondering.)) and my friends started inviting me to a shit ton of things. I've had a busier summer than I usually do, and to be completely honest, I forgot about this story. I know, I'm a horrible person! I feel so bad! However my social life has calmed down and I now have time to write again. Plus some of you (you know who you are {Didi -_-}) have sent me kindhearted reviews that have guilt tripped me into writing again. It might take me awhile to get back into the groove of things but I will be updating again, I promise! Anyway, on with the chapter!**

(Silena's POV)

Silena was not impressed with Hercules, in fact she was fairly disgusted at the fact that he was her kind of uncle. Her parents thankfully seemed to agree with her.

The moment they walked up to him, Silena instantly felt like she was being regarded with an almost malicious amusement. She hated it immensely.

"Hello," Piper said with a polite tone, sounding as if she didn't have a care in the world. Her eyes however shown through with unease.

"What's up?" Hercules nonchalantly answered back, his eyes glancing over the three of them in slight curiosity.

"Uh, not much." Piper responded then winced at her own answer. "Well, actually, a lot. I'm Piper. This is Jason and-"

"Where's your lion skin?" Jason interrupted before Silena could be introduced.

Both women glared at him for the interruption. Jason noticed and cringed before returning his attention back to his older 'brother'. Hercules looked amused though which brought Silena some relief, she was afraid her dad had managed to piss him off a minute into meeting him.

"Its ninety degrees out here," the god said with a raised eyebrow. "Why would I wear my lion skin? Do you wear a fur coat to the beach?"

"I guess that makes sense." Silena glowered at her father when she heard how disappointed he sounded. "It's just that the pictures always show you with a lion skin."

Hercules glared at the sky, as if blaming Zeus personally for his misinformed paintings. "Don't believe everything you hear about me. Being famous isn't as fun as you might think."

"Tell me about it," Piper grumbled next to Silena.

Hercules's attention shifted over to her instantly at that comment. "Are you famous?"

"My dad...he's in movies."

Silena winced slightly at the mention of her mortal grandfather. As fun and awesome as her grandpa was, she and Louis could never go out in public with him, especially not after she'd been bombarded by reporters when she was five and got so scared she accidently fried all the reporters cameras. Her mother had been _furious_ when she saw Silena come through the front door, sniveling and shaking.

Hercules actually _snarled_ at Piper's words. "Don't get me started with the movies. Gods of Olympus, they never get _anything_ right. Have you ever seen one movie where I look like me?"

"I'm surprised you're so young." Piper conceded the point.

"Ha! Being immortal helps. But, yes, I wasn't so old when I died. Not by modern standards. I did a lot during my years as a hero...too much, really." he turned to Jason and Silena with an interested look. "Son of Zeus, eh? And a granddaughter of Zeus as well, that's...interesting."

Father and daughter exchanged uneasy looks as Jason answered. "Jupiter, actually."

"Not much difference," Hercules crossed his arms petulantly. "Dad's annoying in either form. Me? I was called Hercules. Then the Romans came along and named me Hercules. I didn't really change that much, though lately just thinking about it gives me splitting headaches..."

He grimaced and the left side of his face twitched, his robes shimmering and turning white then back to purple, its original color.

"At any rate," he continued, seemingly unaware. "If you're Jupiter's son, you might understand. It's a lot of pressure. Enough is never enough. Eventually it can make a guy snap."

The god turned to Piper. Silena eyed him warily, wondering how he was going to attempt to screw with her parents relationship. She got her answer a second later.

"As for you, my dear," He said, a glint in his eyes Silena disliked immensely. "be careful. Sons of Zeus can be...well, never mind."

Silena fought back a growl as Piper looked ready to bolt at Hercules's sentence. After a moment she smoothed out her features and got back to business.

"So, Lord Hercules," Piper said steadily. "we're on a quest. We'd like permission to pass into the Mediterranean."

Hercules shrugged. "That's why I'm here. After I died, Dad made me the doorkeeper of Olympus. I said, _Great! Palace Duty! Party all the time!_ What he didn't mention is that I'd be guarding the doors to the ancient lands, stuck on this island for the rest of eternity. Lots of fun."

He pointed at the pillars rising from the surf. "Stupid columns. Some people claim I created the whole Strait of Gibraltar by shoving mountains apart. Some people say the mountains _are_ the pillars. What a bunch of Augean manure. The pillars are _pillars_."

"Right," Piper said, blinking at the rant. "Naturally. So...can we pass?"

The god scratched at his beard. "Well, I have to give you the standard warning about how dangerous the ancient lands are. Not just any demigod can survive the Mare Nostrum. Because of that, I have to give you a quest to complete. Usually I give demigods something easy like a shopping trip, singing a funny song, that sort of thing. After all those labors I had to complete for my evil cousin Eurystheus, well...I don't want to be _that_ guy, you know?"

"Appreciate it," Jason said, relaxing slightly.

"Hey, no problem." Hercules shrugged without a care in the world. It seemed too easy for Silena, something was going to go wrong for them, she just knew it.

"So anyway," the god continued. "what's your quest."

"Giants," Jason told him. "We're off to Greece to stop them from waking up Gaea."

"Giants," Hercules muttered. "I hate those guys. Back when I was a demigod...ah, but never mind. So, which god put you up to it? - Dad? Athena? Maybe Aphrodite?" He raised an eyebrow at Piper. "As pretty as you are, I'm guessing that's your mom."

Piper gave a nod, looking unsettled. Silena suddenly got hit with a proverbial bolt of lighting. This is what her bad feeling was about. If they told the truth, that it was Hera that sent them, then Hercules was going to get a lot less friendly.

"Your second guess was right." Silena blurted out, preemptively cutting off her dad. "Athena sent us on it."

Jason looked confused while Piper looked like she had been hit with the same lightning bolt as Silena. She gave Silena a proud look as she subtly elbowed her future husband to stay silent.

Silena sent her mother a thankful look back as Hercules nodded in understanding.

"Must be important very important if Athena sent you on it." Hercules said before cracking his knuckles. "All right for your quest, I want you to sing Twelve Days of Christmas. But you have to do an interpretive dance as well."

The Grace family stood there and stared at the god, who looked completely amused by what he asked.

"An interpretive dance..." Silena trailed off with a sigh.

"I'll sing while you two dance?" Piper offered, biting her lip to hide a smile.

Jason and Silena nodded in defeat and got into their positions.

"I hate this quest." Silena grumbled.

Jason just nodded in agreement.

 _OoOoOo_

"We're back!" Silena called grumpily as she and her parents walked into the mess hall.

Charlie, Ethan, Zack, Percy, Frank and Leo all looked up from what seemed like a very intense scrabble match. Her cousins took one look at Silena and started laughing hysterically.

The reason for this was because Silena and Jason were covered in sand. Jason had sand miraculously stuck to his face while Silena had it completely entangled in her hair. Piper just looked amused.

"Wha, wha, what happened?" Charlie struggled to get out through his laughter.

Silena glared at her cousins darkly as Jason blushed and explained what had happened.

"You fell on your asses doing an interpretive dance to Twelve Days of Christmas." Percy said in disbelief. Jason nodded glumly as Leo started laughing at him too. Frank just sympathetically patted him on the back.

The ladies of the ship who had entered the mess hall during the explanation chuckled as they took their seats around the table. Silena shook her head like a dog getting water out of its fur. Emily and Zack both shrieked as sand hit them. Lily snorted and muttered "Wimps." under her breath.

"So, we have permission to go through?" Annabeth asked.

Piper nodded. "Full permission."

"All right, then." Annabeth looked relived. "Leo, take us in."

Leo saluted and strolled out of the mess hall, Lily on his heels. Silena sat back in her chair and leaned her head on Ethan's shoulder. He grimaced at the feel of the sand but let her head stay where it was.

"So," Percy begun, smirking slightly at Jason. "how was meeting Hercules?"

The trio exchanged looks and scowled as one. Percy blinked in shock at the level of hostility that came from one 'innocent' question. Charlie snickered in tandem with Zack and Emily at the reaction.

"Uh, I'm guessing it didn't go well, other than the dancing part." Frank said, shifting slightly in his seat.

Silena couldn't blame him for being uncomfortable. The three of them looked startling when angered, especially Piper.

"Yeah," Silena grumbled, dropping her head back down to Ethan's shoulder. "You could say that."

Charlie gave her a sympathetic look. "Let me guess. Arrogant, whiny, and easily angered?"

Jason gave his nephew a thumbs up. "Got it in one."

"Charlie, that's a description you could give to all the gods, with like a handful being exempt." Emily gave her older cousin a miffed look.

Charlie rolled his eyes but didn't react to the jab and instead turned his attention to Annabeth. "What now, mom?"

Annabeth gave her son a slight smile before her eyes turned serious. Silena recognized it, it was one Charlie got anytime they played capture the flag against the Hunters. Charlie was the groups main strategist and was usually able to turn the tables against the Hunters if he had enough time to throw a good plan together.

Silena leaned back into her seat, snuggling further into Ethan's shoulder as a result. She knew that look meant they would be there awhile.

 **Okay people! Here's the deal, I will once again be updating (que applause). It'll take me a little while to get back into writing but I'll get there. However please don't spam me with reviews going "You said you would be updating, where the hell is the chapter!?". Kind reviews politely asking where the next chapter is are fine though (In fact, learn from Didi, they managed to sound like a kicked puppy within a couple sentences. I still want to know how they managed it. it was adorable, yet heartbreaking).**

 **It's gonna take me like a month to get back into the habit of writing and posting a chapter every week. I promise I will finish this story though, at some point. Thank you for reading, I'll talk to you next time I post a chapter.**

 **Comic out!**


	32. Dolphins Are Mean Creatures

**Hey guys, sorry if this A/N is a little lackluster. I'm currently hiding in my bedroom wallowing in self pity, wondering why I ever decided to get into a relationship. There is too much emotional stress involved! My boyfriend for the past like five weeks has effectively stopped putting any effort into the relationship at all, claiming that work and school is keeping him super busy. So busy, he fails to respond to the majority of my texts and can't be bothered to help set up dates. Which results in a horribly sad and insecure Comic. So I'm ignoring him right back, which leaves me with nothing to do except write. So I guess one good thing came out of this whole ordeal then, right? Okay, you've heard enough of my ranting and pouting. On with the chapter! And a long one at that!**

 **[Warning: Chapter includes references to torture and has talk of murder. Skip past the italics if you don't want to read it.]**

(Silena's POV)

 _Silena's dreams usually included horrifying but important information. This time was no different._

 _Her bare feet hit warm, soft sand. A gentle wind rustled her hair as she opened her eyes to look around. She instantly scowled, she was back at Hercules's island._

 _She turned her gaze to her left when she heard a familiar voice, mockingly sweet._

 _"Well," Payton Lewis smiled maliciously at her. "It's been a long time, bestie."_

 _Silena froze, her body refusing to listen to her brain. Not that her brain was working correctly, it was too caught up in memories of_ that _night. The one that left her closer to death than any other battle or wound had._

 _"Aw, are you afraid of little old me?" Payton asked, fake sympathy in her eyes. "I guess that's fair. After all, the last we met was, difficult, for you."_

 _Silena felt her breath start to quicken, her palms were suddenly clammy and warm. Her eyes burned with the urge to cry at phantom pains all over her body. Her body trembled against it's will as Payton walked closer, stopping a mere foot away from Silena._

 _Payton stared at her intently before a bigger smile broke out across her face. She began to laugh._

 _"You really_ are _afraid of me, aren't you?" Payton asked rhetorically, laughing harder. "The big bad granddaughter of Zeus, afraid of a lowly legacy like me? Who would've thought."_

 _Payton's amusement slipped away, a serious expression falling across it. "I noticed you met the merpeople, good job. How did you like the family photo I left you?"_

 _Silena swallowed roughly and screwed her courage up. She glared darkly at the blonde in front of her, forcing her body to stop shaking as she clenched her hands into fists._

 _Payton gave a slight smirk, delight visible in her eyes. Payton seemed to derive a dark sense of satisfaction from Silena's defiance. "I see you didn't like it at all. And I worked so hard on it too." The psychopath pouted for moment before shifting her mood back to amusement._

 _"I also noticed you failed to get the cornucopia from that old fart, Achelous. Don't worry, I took care of it for you." Payton threw the cornucopia that magically appeared in her hand at Silena. Silena's hands snapped up without her consent, catching the former horn._

 _Silena stared at the object in her hand before jerking her eyes back up to Payton, who seemed to give out a never ending aura of amusement._

 _"You're wondering why I gave it to you, right?" Payton asked, ignoring the fact that Silena couldn't speak. "I gave it to you because I_ need _your parents to complete the quest, and that object is a crucial part to the quest."_

 _Payton leaned forward, inches from Silena's face. "I_ want _you to win, to feel like you accomplished everything you set out to do. Then when your guard is down, I'm going to kill your siblings and dump their bodies on your doorstep. Then I'll kill everyone else you hold dear, after I have some fun with them."_

 _A sadistic smile crossed Payton's face as she leaned back. "Then I'll leave you alive. I won't kill you, I won't beat you. Hell, you'll be treated like a queen. All the while the guilt and rage tears you up inside until you. Just. Can't. Take it."_

 _The blonde gave her a wink. "I'll be seeing you real soon, Lena." She waved her hand, laughing the whole time._

Silena shot up in bed, gasps falling out of her as she fought back hysterics. Her left hand clenched around the cornucopia tightly. She shut her eyes tightly and focused on her breathing, trying to fight off the oncoming panic attack.

A minute later she opened her eyes, seeing her mother still fast asleep in her own bed. She stared at her mother, not really seeing her. _What do I do now?_ She thought to herself, rubbing her thumb gently over the cornucopia

She put a hand over her eyes and fell backwards onto her pillow, heart still pounding in her chest. Then the door burst open, banging off the wall loudly.

Silena flipped out of her bed, landing on the floor in a messy heap of blankets. Piper jerked awake across the room, her eyes immediately searching for the danger. Emily stood in the doorway, eyes wide and scared.

"Get up!" She hissed. "We need to go!"

"Wha?" Piper said, blinking rapid at the sudden light.

Silena on the other hand surged out of her blanket heap. "What's going on?"

Emily gave a wince. "Dolphins, that's what."

Silena stared uncomprehending. Then her brain kicked into gear. "Shit!"

"That's what I said." Charlie quipped, suddenly appearing in the doorway next to Emily.

"Where are the others?" Silena questioned, stepping toward her cousins.

"Zack's on the deck with Ethan and Lily is in the engine room." Charlie easily answered before giving her a raised eyebrow. "Lena, where did you get that?"

She glanced at the object in her hand and grimaced. "It's a long story. One you're not gonna like."

Charlie looked at her intently for a moment then gave a brisk nod. "Tell me later. Right now, we gotta go."

"Go where?" Piper demanded, joining the three at the doorway. "And what does dolphins have to do with anything?"

"We'll explain later." The trio of kids said in unison. Silena crouched down and pulled up a loose floorboard, chucking the cornucopia in before moving the board back into place. Charlie grabbed his aunt's wrist and tugged her into the hall, Silena and Emily following. They made it all the way to the engine room corridor before they got caught.

Eleven dolphins men cornered them, chattering the entire time. Four moved forward, each grabbing a demigod or legacy. Lily stumbled out of the engine room, paired with her own dolphin guard. The dolphin guard forcefully shoved Lily into Piper, the two girls almost falling to the floor. Charlie reached his hands out to steady them as he glared darkly at the amphibian. It chattered back intently.

"Let us go." Piper spoke, confidence oozing out of her.

Six of the dolphins wavered. The other five did not.

A minute later the small group of four legacies and one demigod emerged from below deck, Piper and Silena tied up like pigs with gags in their mouths. Charlie had a sword to his throat with his hands up in the air while Emily walked freely.

The situation on deck was worse than down below. Leo was lying, dazed, on a pile of ropes, Coach Hedge was tied up similarly to Piper and Silena, and Annabeth and Percy stood shoulder to shoulder glaring at tall man dressed completely in gold armor. Zack and Ethan were nowhere to be found. Silena prayed that meant they were hiding and not dumped into the ocean.

Silena made a dismayed noise and twisted her neck to look at Charlie. He stared back calmly, his stance casual. Silena couldn't help but wonder how her cousin kept his composure so well.

A commotion behind them had her twisting back further into an uncomfortable position. Another small group of dolphins came up the stairs, carting up an unconscious Jason and a tied up Hazel. Frank however was gone. Silena hoped that he, Zack and Ethan were together and coming up with a plan.

Emily's eyes widened at the sight of her mom and stepped forward. "Mom!"

A dolphin quickly smacked her arm with the flat side of a sword. Emily leapt back with a hiss of pain. Charlie's expression darkened as his fists clenched in the air. Hazel made an enraged noise and wigged in her captors arms.

The dolphins began making angry noises as they got riled up. The man in gold slashed his sword in warning. The dolphins immediately fell silent.

"Excellent!" The man in gold, Chrysaor if Silena remembered correctly, said happily.

He gestured for his minions to put Jason by a stack of crossbows. Then he seemed to lean back and examine the girls like prizes. Charlie and Percy got noticeably more tense.

"The boy is of no use to me," Chrysaor said, staring right at Emily for a second before switching to Annabeth. Silena growled and shifted in her bonds. "But we have an understanding with the witch Circe. She will buy the women- either as slaves or trainees, depending on their skill. But not you, lovely Annabeth."

Annabeth shifted closer to Percy in revulsion. "You are _not_ taking me anywhere."

Silena saw Percy's hand creep closer to his pocket, the one Riptide was usually in. Silena swallowed and focused her attention off of him. If she didn't draw attention to it, chances were their foe wouldn't either. She made eye contact with her mother and nodded at her slightly. Piper nodded back and took a deep breath.

Said foe tutted in disappointment. "Oh, sadly, Annabeth, you will not be staying with me. I would love that. But you and your friend Percy are spoken for. A certain goddess is paying a high bounty for your capture- alive if possible, though she didn't say you had to be unharmed."

As soon as he finished speaking Silena and Piper both wailed as loud as they could and 'fainted' on the guards closest to them. Hazel instantly dropped to the ground and began thrashing wildly. Charlie whipped around, Riptide already in his hand, and disarmed his guard, knocking it unconscious. Emily did the same to her guard and moved to Charlie's side.

Percy lunged forward in the chaos and aimed a slash at Chrysaor. The pirate moved at an impossible speed and dodged, parrying the strike. The two sons of Poseidon locked swords and Silena instantly knew her uncle wasn't going to be the victor. Luckily Charlie had no problems jumping in to help.

Her oldest cousin joined the fray, slashing at Chrysaor's ankles. The man growled and jumped back. Charlie followed, aiming a hit after hit at his enemies chest and neck. Percy tried to help but looked frustrated as he couldn't find an opening. He eventually pulled back and went for the dolphins containing the girls.

Silena grabbed the dagger on the floor next to her and freed herself, flipping to her feet. She quickly roundhouse kicked a dolphin and engaged two more. Percy cut through Piper and Hazel's ropes as Annabeth went to check on Jason and Leo. The two boys were still unconscious, even with the ruckus going on around them.

Silena took down her two opponents and whipped around looking for more enemies. Her attention was captured by the battle going on in front of her. Charlie and Chrysaor were locked together, the both of them pushing as hard as they could. Charlie's teeth were gritted together as his forearms and biceps worked hard to keep the golden blade from his neck. Chrysaor looked equally as intense, his legs and shoulders tensed as he fought to kill his opponent. Silena honestly couldn't tell who would win. Then Emily cried out in pain.

Charlie's natural motherhen tendencies had his eyes snapping to the side searching for his injured family member. Chrysaor immediately took advantage of it and kicked a leg out, hitting Charlie in the knee. Charlie gasped in pain and fell to one knee. Chrysaor ripped the sword out of Charlie's hands and tossed it into the sea, pointing his own sword at the center of Charlie's chest.

Silena snapped her head to the right of her and saw Emily on the ground, holding her right ankle. She made to move to her injured cousin only to have a sword thrust in her face. Piper, Hazel, Percy and Annabeth were in similar positions, all of them switching between looking at Emily and staring at Charlie. Emily was biting her lip and glaring at the dolphin who had slashed her ankle, which was bleeding profusely.

Worry stabbed at Silena. She desperately wanted to go to her baby cousin and sooth her pain. Instead she angrily threw her stolen dagger on the ground, steam practically pouring from her ears.

Chrysaor laughed, not even out of breath. "Nice try. But now most of you will have to die." He made a strange gesture causing his dolphin minons to chatter back.

Then Silena's world suddenly went black.

 ***Maniacal Laughter* How did you guys like that? A cliff hanger two chapters back into it AND Payton's scariness? What was the world come to? If you liked this chapter, please leave a review for me. I absolutely love those, and please follow and favorite if you haven't already. I'll talk to you guys next time! Comic out!**

DarkHero12- _Hello! Yes, I am indeed back! I honestly hadn't intended to go on hiatus, it just kinda happened. Hercules_ is _a jerk, though he does have his reasons I suppose. The cornucopia question everyone asked was answered in this chapter. How did you like it? Was it good? I'm not that great at writing suspenseful scenes but I tried my best._

Didi- _No, you weren't that bad. I was just messing with you. I will try to update twice a month but I have no idea when the plot bunnies will hit me. All of your questions were answered in this chapter. How'd you like it? I hope it was good. See ya!_

EspeonAuraGirl55- _I'll be honest with you, I just wanted to get the chapter out and didn't really think anyone would care about the spelling of Hercules. Guess I was wrong. *Shrugs* Thanks so much for understanding! Relationships of all kind need attention to grow and I can honestly tell you these last three months have been emotionally exhausting. However I have now hit my 'I give no fucks' limit emotionally and don't really care at the moment. Besides, you guys love me and that's enough right?_

Guest- _Thanks for reviewing! I'll definitely keep writing this story!_


	33. Percy Becomes An Actor

**Hello! Another chapter! And so soon after my last post too! I must be on a roll or something. Also I have to say thank you to everyone, you've all been incredibly awesome about the unintended hiatus. I am however back, with a new outlook and fresh ideas! I also have to thank everyone because this story has just over 15,000 views! That's insane! Not to mention this story also has 61 follows and 44 favorites. Ah! It's so cool! Thank you so much!**

 **Thanks to** AllDaDamLadiesLuvLeo, Anaklusmos101, Annabeth-JacksonChase, Athenian-Ravenclaw-In-A-TARDIS, Ayushmon, Bibliophage98, BlackxDragonxEmperor, Bone Boy, BubblePoP1300, CatCrazy353, CrazyLich79, CursedWeb33, DaCatOfAdvtenture, DarkHero12, DiAngelo646, Didi0728, Firebrand1612, GallagherGirlx, Kouji-wolf, LiValdez1, Lutz0508, M.J. Lyte, MemeReader, MidgleyMacbeth, Musicromo, New-Zealands-Version-Of-Pluto, Percabeth 8531, Purpledragon120, RareDarkgon, RosettaQueen20, Ruby2724, SarahBR, Sheniffer, ShiroIsKing1304, St4yG01d, Stormwreckin, THE green Blob, TheGoodeRavenclaw, VibiK, aaquater, anahfonte, as9414413, a spoonful of spice, brownielocks57, camo990, chiquislover25, dioVv, dyllfredrix, emenem3211, flora. writer , geupard12, implayinggod, lazygod04, maroulitsa, moonwolf0093, timbo8, trio-of-friends, viper456, yamet7, 45gerardogarcia, Blank book 8, EsperonAuraGirl55, PencilThePen, Phoenix X 2, angelwing143,hannahpjoleonard, lucrezia ramponi 9,newtown54, jmowens2020, prasad, putte5 **for following, favoriting, or reviewing! I love all of you guys!**

 **Special thanks to** aaquater, Didi, DarkHero12, **and,** EspeonAuraGirl55 **for reviewing** **these last few chapters. You four are awesome!**

(Charlie POV)

Charlie was perfectly aware of how much he had screwed up. However there wasn't a whole lot he could do to fix anything at the moment, what with the sword pointed at his chest and all.

He had being doing well in the fight against Chrysaor (who was technically his uncle. Ugh) until Emily had cried out in pain. And Charlie could never ignore his family when they were in pain. So his attention was pulled from his fight, causing his opponent to get the advantage. Leaving him in his current position.

The only good thing from their attempted rebellion was the fact that Lily had managed to disappear in the chaos, hopefully meeting up with Zack, Ethan and Frank. If she did, the four of them might be able to get them the upper hand. Plus Charlie had a good feeling that his dad was coming up with a plan.

At the moment though, things were not looking good. Hazel, Piper and Silena were tied back up, Piper was gaged while Silena had been knocked unconscious. Emily had two dolphin guards hovering around her, her thin jacket wrapped around her ankle. Charlie was worried about her, the blood loss she suffered had left her pale as a ghost and groggy.

Jason and Leo were both still unconscious, or at least were acting like they were. Coach Hedge was in a corner, glaring darkly at everyone. Annabeth and Percy again stood close together, pale themselves as they stared at Charlie and Chrysaor anxiously. Percy's eyes were flittering around the room, desperately trying to pull a plan together. Charlie was certain he would come up with one soon.

Right now though, Charlie wasn't in any position to help. Something his enemy seemed to take as amusing.

"Well done, nephew." Chrysaor said smugly. "Not just anyone can last more than a minute with me."

Charlie glared at him. "Yeah well, that's probably because nobody can stand being near you and that ugly mug of yours."

Chrysaor's grip on his sword tightened in anger. He pressed the tip of his sword deeper into Charlie's chest, managing to break the skin. Charlie hissed in pain, his body protesting the sword digging into it.

"Fine!" Percy suddenly shouted, eyes wide. "Take us away, if our captain will let you."

The sword tip eased away from his chest as Chrysaor leaned back to look at Percy. Charlie stifled a sigh of relief as he shifted to a sitting position.

"What captain?" Chrysaor questioned. "My men searched the ship. There is no one else."

Charlie fought back a grin as he realized no one but him and possibly Annabeth had noticed that Lily had disappeared. 'Thank the gods for unobservant enemies.'

Percy waved his hands dramatically. "The god only appears when he wishes. But he is our leader. He runs our camp for demigods. Doesn't he, Annabeth?"

Annabeth immediately nodded. "Yes! Mr. D! The great Dionysus!"

A tinge of fear was suddenly palpable in the air as the dolphins reacted to the name, one even dropping his sword.

"Stand fast!" Chrysaor yelled, fists clenched. "There is no god on this ship. They are trying to scare you."

"You should be scared!" Charlie's father looked around the room with fake sympathy. "Dionysus will be severely cranky with you for having delayed our voyage. He will punish all of us. Didn't you notice the girls falling into the wine god's madness?"

Percy glared pointedly at Hazel and Piper. The two girls instantly started up their shaking fits again, trembling and bucking. The dolphin-men all but fell over themselves getting away from them.

Percy then swung his gaze over to Charlie and cried. "Even my son has fallen into it!"

Immediately Charlie faked a epileptic seizure, shaking and kicking as hard as he could. The dolphin-men panicked further, retreating back farther. Percy upped the ante by stalking over to a cooler and rummaging through it, pulling out a Diet Coke can and practically shoving it into the faces of the terrified dolphin-men.

"Behold!" Percy shouted. "The god's chosen beverage. Tremble before the horror of Diet Coke!"

'One more push, Dad.' Charlie thought, slowing down his shaking a little. "Just one more little push.'

Percy flashed him a quick as lightning smirk before continuing the act. "The god will take your ship, he will finish your transformation into dolphins, or make you insane, or transform you into insane dolphins! Your only hope is to swim away now, quickly!"

"Ridiculous!" Chrysaor practically shrieked.

"Save yourselves!" Percy dramatically cried. "It is too late for us!"

Then he gasped in horror and pointed at a seemingly random spot. "Oh, no! Frank is turning into a crazy dolphin!"

Nothing happened. Charlie fought the urge to facepalm.

"I _said_ ," Percy spoke through gritted teeth. "Frank is turning into a crazy dolphin!"

Frank stumbled out of nowhere, grabbing his throat like he was chocking. "Oh, no! I am turning into a crazy dolphin!"

Charlie rolled his eyes at his uncle's acting as Frank transformed himself into a dolphin, tail hitting the deck loudly. The pirates however bought it hook, line, and sinker as they fled in terror, chattering and clicking as they threw their weapons down, jumping overboard. Lily, Zack, and Ethan followed the chaos, freeing everyone from their bonds. Zack rushed to Emily's side while Ethan crouched next to Silena

Lily offered him a hand up. "That looked intense."

Charlie took her hand and got to his feet. "Well, I can't beat everyone with brute strength."

Lily studied him for a second before nodding, instead turning to Chrysaor with everyone else, surrounding the formerly cocky pirate. He shifted nervously, turning his head from side to side as he tried to figure a way out. He didn't really have a chance with the kids, Percy, Hazel, Piper and Annabeth surrounding him.

He backed himself to the edge of the railing. "This isn't over, Jackson!" he growled. "I will have my revenge-"

Frank cut him off by slapping him in the face, Frank have changed into a eight hundred pound bear, and smacked his golden helmet off his face. Chrysaor screamed instantly, covering his face and diving over the railing.

Everyone rushed to the railing, looking for him in the dark water. He was gone though, having vanished in the waves. Charlie backed off, running a hand through his hair as he let out a relieved breath.

"That was amazing!" Annabeth kissed Percy, to Charlie's amusement at his dad's slightly red face.

"It was desperate," Percy corrected her. "And we need to get rid of this pirate trireme."

"Burn it?" Annabeth asked slowly, staring at him in slight confusion.

Percy glanced at the soda in his hand in thought. "No. I've got another idea."

 _OoOoOoOo_

Percy's plan took a little longer than any of them wanted, but they got it done as quickly as they could. By the time they were done, Leo was back on his feet without even a hint of being injured. Jason was awake and embarrassed at being knocked out _again_ , the poor guy. Though his embarrassment was overshadowed by his concern for Silena, who had only woken five minutes before hand.

After being told what happened she was understandably annoyed. She had been grumpy since, to everyone else's dismay. Emily was thankfully fine after being fed some ambrosia and being tended to by Hazel. Zack had refused to leave her side and the two were quietly bickering next to Silena, to her great annoyance.

Charlie had also been glanced over by his parents, his mother glaring at him until he took a sip of nectar. To be honest, he hadn't really felt that bad, other than brooding over getting his ass kicked. Percy seemed to share his mood, as he had taken to glaring over the side of the railing, practically daring Chrysaor and his crew to come back. Thankfully they didn't.

Finally they all stood, looking at the ship still connected to theirs. Charlie had been shocked at how much gold they had aboard that ship, it was insane!

Hazel seemed to agree with him. "I can sense about six million dollars' worth of gold aboard," she said, slightly dazed. "Plus diamonds, rubies-"

"Six m-million?" Frank stammered, staring at the ship. "Canadian dollars or American?"

"Leave it," Percy ordered, throwing Frank an amused look. "It's part of the tribute."

"Tribute?" Hazel looked confused.

"Oh." Piper said in realization. "Kansas."

Jason grinned in approval at Percy. "Crazy. But I like it."

Percy sent him a smirk back before going on to the ship to open the flood valves. While he was doing that, Charlie caught Silena slipping downstairs out of the corner of his eye and returning with the cornucopia. Charlie scowled slightly, he still planned on badgering her about how she got it.

Percy walked back over to their ship and signaled the rest of the crew to cut the grappling lines. Silena stepped forward and aimed her horn of plenty at the slowly sinking ship, Diet Coke shooting out of it. Everyone else stared at her in shock while Silena grimaced.

"I'll explain later." she grumbled, irritated. Everyone backed off, slightly fearful. Charlie just huffed at her and turned his attention back to the ship.

Percy shook his head and held up Chrysaor's golden mask. "Dionysus," he called out. "Or Bacchus- whatever. You made this victory possible, even if you weren't here. Your enemies trembled at your name...or your Diet Coke, or something. So, yeah, thank you."

Percy seemed to be nauseous at the words he was saying but forced them out. "We give this ship to you as tribute. We hope you like it."

"Six million in gold." Leo muttered grumpily. "He'd _better_ like it."

"Shh," Hazel scolded him. "Precious metal isn't all that great. Believe me."

Percy tossed the mask onto the sinking vessel, which was sinking even faster, brown fizzy liquid flowing out of the ship and turning the sea frothy brown. Percy nudged Charlie and together the two of them summoned a wave to crash into the enemy ship. Leo steered the _Argo ll_ away as it disappeared underwater.

"Isn't that polluting?" Piper asked, watching the ship disappear into the depths of the ocean.

"I wouldn't worry," Jason said, an arm tossed over his future wife and his other arm over Silena. "If Bacchus likes it, the ship should disappear."

Charlie focused his attention onto Silena, who shrank into Jason slightly at the look on his face. "Lena," Charlie said, narrowing his eyes. "how exactly did you get that?"

Silena fidgeted slightly before taking a deep breath. "Payton gave it to me. In a dream."

"What!?" Five voices flowed together. Charlie and Ethan's were clipped and stoic, while Emily, Lily and Zack practically screamed out the word. The parents were in a stunned silence.

"I don't know how." Silena told them, fingers brushing over the horn. "But she appeared in my dreams and gave it to me."

"Why would she do that?" Zack asked, panicked at the thought. Emily grabbed his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"You really not going to like it." Silena locked eyes with Charlie.

"I don't like anything involving Payton." Charlie informed her. "Tell us."

Silena told them. She was right, Charlie didn't like it at all. The others weren't too fond of it either.

"That little bitch!" Hazel, to the shock of everyone, swore. She continued swearing in Latin, some of her words making Frank choke on air. Leo, despite the situation, was hiding a grin along with Percy and Jason while Piper and Annabeth mocked Hazel slightly by fanning themselves with their hands.

The kids themselves were having similar reactions. Emily was gawking at her mother while Zack and Lily laughed in triumph. They had been working on corrupting Hazel the entire trip. Silena and Ethan were smirking while Charlie just shook his head at his family. They could never take anything seriously!

Hazel eventually caught herself and blushed furiously. Leo held out his hand for a high five, snickering the whole time. She just gave him a look and cleared her throat in embarrassment.

"Anyway," Charlie said loudly. "Ignoring Aunt Hazel's shameful display, we need to discuss how we're going to deal with this new information." He winked at his aunt, who stuck her tongue out in response.

"I don't know how she managed to get it to me." Silena said, the smile fading from her face. "She never said anything about being a legacy of Hypnos, right?" she aimed the question at her cousins.

"I never heard her say anything like that." Ethan confirmed, crossing his arms and leaning back against the railing.

"Do you think she has a child of Hypnos on her side?" Lily asked.

Charlie frowned in thought. "That's the only thing that makes sense. But she always insulted the Hypnos kids at camp, she called them lazy and stupid among other things."

"Maybe she was throwing you guys off." Piper offered. "Is that something she would do?"

"That sounds exactly like something she would do." Ethan grumbled. Everyone wisely didn't comment on his abrupt mood swing at the mention of Payton.

"I think all of us will have to think on it, and discuss it more later." Annabeth said, clapping her hands together. "Right now, most of us need more sleep, especially you, Percy." She glared at her boyfriend. He nodded obediently.

"I'll take watch." Jason immediately said.

Leo gave a thumbs up. "I'll put us in the air."

"Jason, you sure? I can stay up-" Percy said but Jason shook his head.

"It's fine, man," He shoved Percy toward the stairs. "Give somebody else a chance to save the ship, huh?"

Percy reluctantly agreed and walked downstairs, everyone but Silena, Charlie, Leo and Jason following. Leo went to the controls and started taking the ship into the air, while Jason walked away from Charlie and Silena, giving them space. Silena tossed the cornucopia between her hands, staring intently at a spot on the floor.

Charlie stared over the railing patiently waiting for her to gather her thoughts together. She chewed on her lower lip for minute before finally speaking.

"She said she would leave me alive." Silena quietly admitted, stepping closer so she could lean against his shoulder. "So that I would be the only one of us left."

Charlie stayed silent, simply putting his arm around her softly trembling shoulders. Silena curled in closer, sniffling quietly.

"How could she say that?" she asked, looking up at Charlie with teary eyes. "How could we not realize how _evil_ she is."

"I don't know." He admitted softly. "I think it's because we were young, and because we considered her family."

"She betrayed us." Silena said vehemently, gritting her teeth as she fought back tears. "She stabbed me and left me to die!"

Charlie nodded in agreement as he realized why his cousin was upset. "So why do you still care about her. That's what you're thinking, right?"

All the fight seemed to leave her the moment Charlie spoke the words. She slumped against him and rested her head against his collarbone. "Does that make me a terrible person?" she muttered, a defeated sigh leaving her.

"No," Charlie told her quietly. "In fact, it makes you an awesome person."

She didn't respond, instead just wrapping her arms around him. Charlie tossed his other arm around her waist and dropped his to rest against her, staying like that for awhile.

 **Well then! That last scene was emotional, wasn't it? How'd you like it? I know a lot of you like the angsty/HC side of this fic so I figured I'd give you some of what you wanted! I hope it turned out well. And hopefully by the time I upload this chapter I'll have chapters 34 and 35 written so you'll probably get another chapter next week. Maybe. We'll see.**

 **Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. Please follow and favorite if you haven't already, and please leave a review! I love those, they make my day! See ya next time! Comic out!**

DarkHero12- _Yeah, I'm planning on introducing more of the Kids' enemies the further I get into this. At the moment though, I'm just trying to establish my characters and the storyline. As for Payton, the reason I let everyone know her plan now was because this was my last step of really establishing her character as an insane, psycho bitch. We're not going to be seeing Payton again for awhile and that's because she's doing things behind the scenes that you'll see later._

Didi- _You're welcome! I'm so happy everyone likes the dream sequence! As that was the last time we're going to see Payton for awhile, I wanted to reinforce that she really isn't the most stable of individuals. Charlie_ is _too caring, and it's going to get him in a lot of trouble. Girl, be happy you haven't had a boyfriend before, this is my first relationship and it's_ exhausting _spending so much time thinking and worrying about another individual. You have confused me slightly at the 'he might be feeling rejected' bit but honestly it could be that, I have no idea. Besides, you love me, right? :D See ya next chapter!_

EspeonAuraGirl55- _Long Distance relationships suck, I'm sorry for you. But atleast you're getting to see him at Thanksgiving, so good for you! As for your question, I can neither confirm nor deny it. You'll have to wait and see ;D_

aaquater- _Honey, I think you just broke the record for reviews posted in a day for this fic, congradulations! You did indeed get me to go "What the hell?" so good job. As for your theory, it kinda made my spin but in a good way. I swear you put more thought in to that than I have for the 33 chapters I've posted. Good catch on chapter 29, it'll be explained later what killed them and why they were traveling together. The alibi part for Athena was kinda where I was going with that, you'll notice that the Kids rarely lie. They dole out half truths and misdirection instead. I will say that Payton lies a lot, even about her own ancestry, do with that what you will. Also, thank you! I always try to make the openings of my chapters really good as that's what I think is most authors downfall. You'll have a really good story but you just can't get anybody interested. So hearing you say that is awesome! Hope you'll keep reviewing and thinking up crazy theories! See ya next time!_


	34. An Epic Rescue Begins

**As I was writing this chapter I realized something that's both awesome and terrible, this fic is almost over! I only have like a maximum of maybe ten chapters left to write? Maybe less. It's so bittersweet! I've put so much work into this fic and it's almost done! Thankfully I plan on continuing this story in the second FTS book, Fated to Survive, and then I have a third one planned but you're not getting the title for that for awhile. So don't worry! These characters aren't going anywhere for a looooooong while. On with the chapter!**

(Charlie POV)

Rome was beautiful. That was his only thought as he looked over the railing down at the city underneath them, large, busy, and gorgeous. It had nothing on New York, though, in his opinion atleast. Never mind that he was biased.

His poor dad though looked slightly anxious looking over the city, and its vastness. Charlie clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a grin. Percy gave him a hesitant one back.

"We're setting down in that park," Leo announced from their left, pointing to a wide green space dotted with palm trees. "Let's hope the Mist makes look like a large pigeon or something."

Charlie snorted in amusement. The Mist altered peoples perceptions, sure, but he was pretty sure it could do better than a large pigeon. He kept his mouth shut though, not wanting to anger his mischievous uncle. Leo set the _Argo ll_ down gently, the settling into the ground slightly.

"I think I know where we are," Jason said, pointing to a the opening of some kind of tunnel. "That's the Tomb of the Scipios."

Percy frowned beside Charlie. "Scipio...Reyna's pegasus?"

"No," Annabeth corrected. "They were a noble Roman family, and...wow, this place is amazing."

Jason nodded. "I've studied maps of Rome before. I've always wanted to come here, but..." he trailed off.

Charlie glanced around and saw everybody was in awe, just like him. The only people missing from the group were Emily and Silena, the two girls asleep downstairs still. Everyone had decided to leave them be for the time being.

"Plans?" Hazel put them all back on track. "Nico has until sunset- at best. And this entire city is supposedly getting destroyed today."

Percy seemed to shake himself before answering. "You're right. Annabeth...did you zero in on that spot from your bronze map?"

Annabeth seemed to glower at him for a second before nodding. "Yes, It's on the Tiber River. I think I can find it, but I should-"

"Take me along," Percy smoothly interjected. Charlie couldn't help but treat the conversation like a tennis match, looking between his parents faces. "Yeah, you're right."

Annabeth glared harder. "That's not-"

"Safe," Percy continued, to everyone's disbelief. "One demigod walking through Rome alone. I'll go with you as far as the Tiber. We can use that letter of introduction, hopefully meet the river god Tiberinus. Maybe he can give you some help or advice. Then you go on alone."

A silent staring contest passed over the two of them, Percy being as stubborn as ever while Annabeth tried to glare him into submission. Charlie hid a smirk, these were always fun to watch since it was actually rare for them to happen. Zack quietly vanished into a shadow and returned with a bag of popcorn, sharing with Lily. Leo noticed and made an obvious attempt to fight off laughter. Charlie just shook his head in amusement.

Annabeth finally conceded to her boyfriend's stubbornness. "Fine," she muttered. "Hazel, now that we're in Rome, do you think you can pinpoint Nico's location?"

Hazel blinked like she was coming out of a trance, having been absorbed in the battle of wills going on in front of her. "Um...hopefully, if I get close enough. I'll have to walk around the city. Frank, would you come with me?"

Frank lit up. "Absolutely!"

"And, uh...Leo," Hazel added, looking at the latino. "It might be a good idea if you came along too. The fish-centaurs said we'd need your help with something mechanical."

Leo, who currently had Zack in a headlock, the two of them fighting over the popcorn, agreed instantly. "Yeah, no problem."

Frank, thankfully, just sighed in disappoint over not getting to spend time with Hazel alone before he shook his head and chuckled with everyone else as Leo forced Zack to the ground, demanding he give up the popcorn. Lily, after this went on for more than a minute, walked over and snatched the bag of popcorn, setting it on fire. Zack and Leo both wailed pitifully and started mourning the loss of their popcorn.

Piper gave an exasperated look before pulling out her knife, setting it on the rail. "Jason and I can watch the ship with the kids. I'll see what Katoptris can show me. But, Hazel, if you guys get a fix on Nico's location, don't go in there by yourselves. Come back and get us. It'll take all of us to fight the giants."

The atmosphere shifted to a more serious tone. No one wanted to think about that fight, especially because, technically, the kids couldn't help them in that fight. They could help them get there all they wanted, but they couldn't interfere that much, not without serious repercussions.

"Good idea," Percy said. "How about we plan to meet back up here at...what?"

"Three this afternoon?" Jason suggested. "That's probably the latest we could rendezvous and still hope to fight the giants and save Nico. If something happens to change the plan, try to send an Iris-message.

Everyone nodded, several of them glancing at Annabeth worriedly. She wouldn't be coming back at three, everyone knew it. Annabeth though just took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.

Coach Hedge grunted. "That'll give me time to eat the coconuts- I mean dig the coconuts out of our hull. Percy, Annabeth...I don't like you going off on your own. Just remember: _behave_. If I hear about any funny business, I will ground until the Styx freezes over."

Annabeth scowled at the threat while Percy just smiled. "We'll be back soon," he promised, looking around at everyone. "Good luck, everyone."

With that Leo lowered the gangplank, and Percy and Annabeth were the first off followed by Frank, Hazel, and Leo.

 _OoOoOoOo_

Charlie threw a tennis ball at the wall, catching it with ease when it bounced back at him. His parents along with Hazel, Frank, and Leo had been gone for almost an hour, and something was nagging at him. Like he had forgotten something but he didn't have any clue what it was. It was annoying the hell out of him.

Then Emily ran into his cabin, panting. "I had found out where the siblings are." she gasped out, sounding like she had just run a marathon.

"What!?" Charlie yelped out, the tennis ball he had thrown again hitting him the chest.

"You know how I've been training with Hecate kids at camp?" Emily asked, picking at her fingernails.

Charlie narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Weeeeeell, they kinda taught me how to astral project and I may have done it to try to find out where Payton was?" Emily offered a guilty smile, her breathing finally under control.

"You. Did. What." Charlie said through gritted teeth.

Emily cringed. "I said-"

"I heard what you said!" Charlie snapped, standing up from his bed. "Do you know how risky that was? What would've happened if you _had_ found her and she saw you!? We still don't know how she managed to get the horn of plenty to Lena, Em! She could've killed you!"

"I know!" Emily yelled back. "But I had to do something! She's been fracking fifteen steps ahead of us since we started this stupid quest! We need information, which I got, mind you!"

"That's not the point!" Charlie argued with the twelve year old. "It's not worth your life! You didn't even tell anyone!"

Emily scoffed. "Oh, like you tell anyone _your_ plans?"

"Excuse me?" Charlie scowled. "When have I ever-"

"Tartarus." Emily interrupted him, glaring with tears in her eyes. "You, Ethan, and Lena have been lying to me and the other two. You really think we didn't notice? We just didn't know how to tell you that we know."

"Emily..." Charlie whispered in shock, staring at his baby cousin.

She wiped tears off her cheeks, sniffling. "How could _you_ do that? Just leave us alone, and possibly _die_."

Charlie sighed and pulled her into a hug, his own heart aching. "I'm sorry," he told her quietly. "I thought it would be better this way, so you didn't have to worry until we went through with it."

"That might have worked if you were better at hiding things from us." She mumbled into his shirt.

Charlie laughed. "Yeah, I guess I'm not good at that, am I?"

"Not really," Emily snuggled in further.

They stayed like that for awhile, Charlie gently rubbing her back while she cuddled into him as close as she could. Finally they pulled back, Emily rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Come on," Charlie murmured, tousling her hair. "Let's go tell the others."

Five minutes later they were gathered in the mess hall. Emily had been scolded yet again and hugged within an inch of her life by everyone. Lily and Zack admitted that they had known about the plan for awhile, to Charlie and Silena's dismay, while Ethan just sighed in relief, no longer having to keep a secret from his family.

"Alright, Em, where are the little ones?" Ethan asked, redirecting the conversation.

"Under the coliseum where the twin giants are." Emily immediately said.

"Well, that's convenient." Zack muttered snarkily.

Silena frowned in thought. "Actually, it's not. Now we have to dodge giants, our parents, and Payton plus her minions Hugo and Atlas."'

"Great," Lily said, lightly kicking a chair. "This is going to be _so_ much fun."

"We're doing it, guys," Charlie told them. "These are our siblings we're talking about. It doesn't matter how many people we have to go through, we're getting them back."

All of them nodded in agreement. Ethan cleared his throat.

"And how exactly are we going to get there without tipping our parents off?" he asked dryly.

Charlie gave him a mischievous grin. Ethan and Silena eyes it distrustfully while the other three smiled excitedly.

"We're going to steal a car, of course!"

 _OoOoOoOo_

Stealing a car was actually easy, driving was the hard part.

"You're driving on the wrong side!" Lily shrieked from the back of the mini van Charlie had 'borrowed'.

Charlie, who was driving, cursed loudly and moved lanes, narrowly avoiding another car. Honks came from around them as he merged sharply, one driver giving him the finger.

"How long until we get there?" Charlie directed his question at Silena, who was in the passenger seat.

"Um," Silena fumbles with map they had filched from a convince store. "Like five minutes?"

"Was that a statment or a question?" Ethan grumbled, hanging on to his seat belt for dear life.

Silena glowered at him in the rearview mirror. "Shut up."

Charlie turned sharply, causing everyone in the car to scream. Emily and Zack were in the far back, holding each other tightly. Lily whimpered in fear while Ethan started groaning and holding his stomach. Silena clutched at the dashboard, swearing loudly.

"We're almost there." Charlie called out. "Lily, did you bring the conch shell?"

"Yeah, I have it right here." Lily said, holding it up.

"Thank the gods," Ethan mumbled before he groaned louder, gaging slightly.

"Don't puke in the car!" Charlie and Silena hollered at him, sharing panicked looks.

Ethan simply moaned in response, trying his best to curl into a ball. Lily winced and patted his shoulder, giving Charlie a look. He scowled back as he accelerated trough a stop sign.

Five minutes later they were parked at their destination, everyone but Charlie throwing themselves out of the car. Ethan stumbled as he got out, finally throwing up everything in his stomach. Lily rubbed his back and simply told him that the ride was over. The Terrors were kissing the ground and thanking the gods that they were alive. Silena was holding on to the car door, willing her legs to reverse their jellylike state. Charlie crossed his arms and sulked.

"It was not _that_ bad." He mumbled with a pout. His cousins just gave him disbelieving looks as they all finally straightened up and grabbed their things, Ethan giving Charlie dark looks the entire time.

The six of them stood shoulder to shoulder, staring up at the coliseum blankly as they tried to psych themselves up. Finally Charlie took a deep breath and set his shoulders back.

"Let's go save our siblings."

 **Chapter Thirty Four is done! And with it starts the beginning of the end. Of this book atleast ;D. Slightly short chapter but there is a ton of info jampacked in it.**

 **Just to keep you guys up to date on where everyone is, Annabeth is on her solo quest, finding the Athena Parthenos, Percy is wallowing in misery while walking back to the ship, Leo, Frank and Hazel are walking around Rome, trying to find Nico, and Jason and Piper are having a lovely picnic while Coach Hedge is hiding in his cabin.**

 **Thusly the Kids were able to sneak off without being seen, since no one was watching them. Bad, bad parents!**

 **Anyway, see you guys next chapter! Comic out!**

EspeonAuraGirl55- _I love how you talk to Charlie like he'll actually respond, it's awesome. Frank has a way of almost screwing things up that's just pure magic. Thanks for the compliment and no problem, everyone seems to love the shoutouts._

aaquater- _Silena_ does _get injured the most out of the kids, with Charlie as a close second. If you look closely at the beginning of the chapter, you'll see that Chrysaor actually calls Charlie his nephew before Percy says anything. But yes, Gaea knows_ all _about the Kids thanks to Payton. Percy's a snarky little shit but he's a smart one. Payton has a looooooong list of accomplishments, the most impressive being Hazel's excessive swearing. No, I don't think you ever let that person go._

RosettaQueen20- _YOU'RE BACK! YAY! I've missed you, incase you couldn't tell. I'm glad to be back too! It's been surprisingly easy to get back into writing but that's probably because everyone who has distracted me from writing is now too busy to care what I do. (Sad music plays)_


	35. The Battle Rages On

**Chapter Thirty Five is here! And with it arrives the action! In this chapter you get to see Hugo again, and this time he's brought along Atlas! Who's a scary mofo that almost caused Jiper to get divorced! So lets see how this chapter goes, shall we? On with the story!**

(Charlie POV)

His cousins were disturbingly good at sneaking around, Charlie didn't know whether he should be proud or worried.

The six of them crept along the dark walls of the underground tunnels, deep beneath the coliseum. No sound escaped them as they easily maneuvered themselves around monsters, completely silent in their communication. Charlie led them down a dark, damp hallway with Ethan bringing up the rear, the terrors placed between Silena and Lily.

None of them had their weapons out, not wiling to give their enemies a hint of where they were despite the fact that so far no one was aware of their presence. Emily was silently telling Charlie where to go according to her astral projection trip. They went down many hallways, twists and turns there only to confuse them. Emily thankfully had an incredible memory.

Eventually they came upon a darkly lit room, empty with the exception of a cage sat in the middle of the room. Charlie could just barely make out the outline of bodies, small and lying down. He resisted the urge to sprint into the room and instead turned to his cousins.

'This is it.' He mouthed, gesturing inside the room.

His cousins all nodded, waiting for their orders. Charlie pointed at Ethan, Lily, Silena and Zack then moved his hands to the corners of the room, wanting them to wait in the shadows for a potential ambush. They nodded in understanding. Charlie turned toward Emily and silently told her to back him up. She gave an incline of her head.

The plan formed and understood, Charlie crept into the room.

He made his way over to the cage, silent the entire time. Emily quietly followed him, eyes flickering all over the room wearily. Charlie's hand hovered over the bars of the cage before backing away, not trusting the bars to be spell free. Instead he waved his hand at Emily to come over and check the bars. She tiptoed over and raised her shimmering hands. She furrowed her brow as she worked, something that made Charlie's heart pound. Something wasn't right.

While Emily worked, Charlie glanced over at the little ones. He noted that they all seemed to be asleep rather than unconscious, to his great relief. He made a quiet clicking sound with his tongue, hoping one of them would hear it and wake up.

It worked. Louis raised his head and glanced around in confusion. His eyes landed on Charlie and Emily, widening as he realized who they were. Charlie brought his pointer finger to his lips, motioning for Louis to be quiet. He nodded and started waking up the others, the little ones grumbling as they were woken up. The three girls looked like they wanted to simultaneously scream and cry once they saw Charlie and Emily.

Charlie frantically waved his hands, desperately hoping they would understand. Louis quickly slapped his hands over Gabby and Gemma's mouths, shaking his head at Zoe. Zoe's eyes widened further as she realized why they were shaking their heads. She brought her hands over her mouth and looked around the room, shuffling closer to Louis. The twins, Alejandro and Andre, thankfully stayed asleep, wrapped up in their blankets.

Emily finally put her hands down and gave a nod; the cage was fine to open. Charlie quietly put his hands to the bars and waited for Emily to unlock them, once she did he pulled with everything he had, the rusty cage fighting him the whole time.

Finally with a loud _sqeeeeek_ the cage opened. Charlie winced at the noise and dove into the cage, scooping up the twins and hustling the younger ones out. Emily quickly hoisted Zoe up onto her hip, the little girls leg still injured. The others emerged from the shadows, each one scooping up their respective sibling, Ethan taking Andre from Charlie to free up one of his arms, the seven month old sleeping through it all. Alejandro squirmed in Charlie's arms, cuddling into his warm chest.

They all filed out of the room, silent as they could be.

Five minutes later they stumbled into a giant opening, one they had passed on the way in.

"I can't believe we did it." Emily gasped, tired from holding Zoe up. Charlie quickly traded with her, propping Zoe up high on his hip. The five year promptly burst into tears once she was in her big brothers arms. Sobs wracked through her as the other siblings followed suit, the ones staying calm being the twins.

Charlie cooed at his baby sister, rocking back and forth as he rubbed her back. "It's okay," He murmured to her. "I've got you, it's okay."

Silena, Zack, and Lily were doing similar things with their siblings, Zack bouncing on his toes and singing softly to his little sister. After a few minutes, they calmed down but still held their older siblings in a death grip. The twins had woken up and were gurgling happily in Emily and Ethan's arm.

"Come on," Silena said as she transferred Louis to her back. "We need to get out of here, that was way too easy."

"You're right," A voice called out from behind them. "It was too easy."

They whirled around, Charlie's hand moving to his pocket and pulling out Riptide in pen form. Standing a couple yards away from them, two feet above them on a ledge, was Atlas Pierce.

His white blond hair shined brightly as a spotlight hit him, violet eyes sparkling with a malicious intent. His 5'8 height hidden at the moment, his lean body was positioned casually with his hands shoved into his designer jeans pockets, a loud button up shirt paired with a leopard print bomber jacket covering his upper half. His head tilted to the side slightly, a pair of vintage sunglasses slipping a little down his nose, giving him an 'I could care less' aura. He looked like a runway model.

Standing beside him was Hugo Moore. If Atlas looked like a model, Hugo looked like a crappy rent'a thug. His closely cut auburn hair looked scraggly and greasy, his hazel eyes staring straight at Charlie angrily. He was dressed in a black T-shirt, black jeans, combat boots and a camouflage hoodie. He had his arms crossed tightly, standing head and shoulders above his comrade, standing at 6'2. His sword hung by his side, swing slightly.

"This is gonna suck." Emily said simply.

Atlas smiled viciously. "Yes, it is."

 _OoOoOoOo_

Charlie was man enough to admit it, he _extremely_ grateful Payton hadn't shown up as well. As much as he hated her, she scared him like nothing ever had before. Still Hugo and Atlas posed a great threat as well, Hugo was a deadly opponent and Charlie had no idea what Atlas could do in battle but he knew it was nothing good.

Very slowly he put Zoe down on to her feet and stepped into front of her, keeping his eyes on his two enemies watching them.

"Hey there, guys," he said calmly. "Didn't see you there."

"We know." Atlas smirked. "We're so _hurt."_

Lily made an annoyed noise to his left. "Why don't you go away and cry about it, Pierce."

Atlas's expression shifted to glare. "Screw you, Valdez. Mommy and Daddy aren't here to protect you, I'd keep your trap shut."

Lily grinned without any happiness. "I don't need my parents to take you down, wimp."

Atlas clenched his fists and made to jump off the platform he and Hugo were on. Hugo's hand snapped out, roughly grabbing him by the collar.

"Easy," Hugo rumbled, still staring at Charlie. "She's baiting you, dumbass."

Atlas took a deep breath and opened his hands, putting on a strained smile. "Right, of course she is. But it's not going to work today."

"Oh?" Lily raised an eyebrow. "Seemed to work pretty well to me."

Atlas just glared at her darkly before he continued speaking. "Payton wants you all captured and/or injured. She specially told us not to let you get your siblings out. So I'm gonna need you to give those _brats_ to us."

"Nah," Zack spoke up, shifting Gemma in his arms. "I don't feel like it."

Atlas took another deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he set his jaw and pulled out his own sword. "I'm not telling you twice."

Charlie uncapped Riptide, the sword springing to life. "Then it looks like you're gonna have to make us."

Atlas gritted his teeth. "I thought so. Hugo, go get those kids."

Hugo obeyed, jumping off the platform and striding towards Charlie, an evil glint in his eyes. Charlie fell into his stance and quickly shouted at his family.

"GO! Get them out of here!" He screamed before leaping toward Hugo.

Ethan, Emily, Zack, and Silena took off running, Ethan snatching up Zoe without breaking his stride. Lily passed Gabby over to Silena before pulling out her own dagger, giving Atlas the finger. The son of Aphrodite screamed in rage and instantly ran for her, sword swinging wildly.

Charlie and Hugo clashed, locking their swords together. Charlie's muscles screamed at him as he pushed as hard as he could, Hugo baring his teeth at him the whole time.

"God, your breath smells." Charlie grumbled, hoping to throw his opponent off.

It worked, kind of. Hugo snarled with rage and ended their battle of wills, instead slashing his sword forcefully. Charlie swore as he dodged, jumping over the blade when the son of Ares went for his ankles.

He stabbed forward, forcing Hugo to back up to steps. Hugo retaliated by thrusting forward, managing to rip through a small portion of Charlie's shirt sleeve. Charlie scrambled away, taking quick nimble steps. Hugo followed immediately, never letting up. They continued through the motions, Charlie ducking and dodging for all he was worth.

"Hey, Lily!" Charlie called as sidestepped a lunge from Hugo, slapping him back with the flat of his blade. "How're you doing?"

Lily grunted as she got up from a hasty roll. "Oh, you know," she shrugged. "He could be doing better."

Atlas cursed her out as he slashed wildly at her, Lily yelping in surprise as she dodged. Charlie huffed a breath as he focused his attention back on his own fight. 'C'mon, Charlie, think. How does this fight end?' Charlie frantically thought, as he moved instinctively.

'There.' He found Hugo's opening, he left his left side open every time he lunged for Charlie, anger making him forgetful. Before he could attack though the ceiling started shaking violently, dust falling from it heavily. Both battles paused as they stared up at the ceiling.

"Shit!" Atlas swore immediately before giving them intense glares. "This isn't over."

With that, Hugo and Atlas darted out of the room, a door Charlie hadn't noticed before slamming shut behind them. Lily limped over to him, thigh bleeding slightly.

"What was that about?" she panted out, putting her dagger back in its holster.

"I have no idea." Charlie said back, his own injuries aching. Hugo had managed to get him fairly good across his left bicep, the wound stung like a bunch of fire ants biting him all at once. "But I have a feeling we're going to find out."

 _OoOoOoOo_

Turns out what caused the ceiling to shake ended up being the twin giants Ephialtes and Otis. Oh joy.

The scene he and Lily stumbled on was not a good one. They were standing in a gigantic room, filled with cages and contraptions that Charlie had no idea about. Piper was lying on the ground next to a dazed Nico. Jason and Percy stood side by side, warily watching the twin giants. Dionysus stood in front of them, petting a pair of leopards. It would seem like Charlie and Lily had stumbled in right as the wine god appeared.

"Really, Ephialtes." the god tsked. "Killing demigods is one thing. But using leopards for your spectacle? That's over the line."

Charlie and Lily traded disbelieving looks as they quietly made their way over to Jason and Percy, stealthily moving between all the clutter in the arena.

The giant, Ephialtes, made a squeaking noise. "This- this is impossible. D, D-"

"It's Bacchus, actually, my old friend." _Bacchus_ said. "And of course it's possible. Some one told me there was a party going on."

The giants spear quivered. "You- you gods are doomed! Be gone, in the name of Gaea!"

"Hmmm," Bacchus sounded unimpressed to Charlie. The grandson of the sea god had to fight off a giggle.

Finally Charlie and Lily were standing next to the heroes standing side by side. Jason and Percy jumped as they suddenly appeared by their sides. Percy stared with Jason at the two of them as Charlie fidgeted in place. The two shook their heads and muttered something under their breaths, grabbing the two cousins and dragging them in between their bodies. Charlie stood tucked into his dads side while Lily was tugged as close as possible to her godfather.

"What are you doing here?" Percy said through gritted teeth, gripping Charlie's hand.

Lily and Charlie traded winces as he answered. "Saving our siblings?"

"What." Jason said flatly, staring at Lily disapprovingly. Percy did the same to Charlie as Bacchus walked around insulting the twin giants 'props'.

"We saved our siblings." Lily replied, scuffing her shoe on the floor.

Jason scowled. "That's what I thought you said, I was hoping I heard wrong."

Charlie bit his lip and quickly gave them the short version as to why they were there. As he explained the two men grew exceedingly more distressed, especially when he mentioned they fight they had been in. Percy moved to say something, probably to berate them, but the giants interrupted.

"STYLE?" Ephialtes yelled in fury. "I have _mountains_ of style. I _define_ style. I-I-"

"My brother _oozes_ style," Otis defended his twin.

"Thank you!" The giant cried in response.

Jason and Percy gave Lily and Charlie looks that clearly told them this wasn't over as Bacchus stepped toward the giants causing the twins to back peddle quickly.

"Have you two gotten shorter?" the wine god asked to the anger of the giants.

"Oh, that's low," Ephialtes growled lowly. "I'm quite tall enough to destroy, Bacchus! You gods, always hiding behind your mortal heroes, trusting the fate of Olympus to the likes of _these_."

He sneered at Percy, not even noticing the addition of Charlie and Lily. Charlie felt a little insulted by that.

Jason apparently agreed since he lifted his sword. "Lord Bacchus, are we going to kill these giants or what?"

"Well, I certainly hope so," the wine god said, waving his hands dismissively. "Please, carry on."

Percy and Lily stared at him disbelievingly as Charlie and Jason forced back groans. "Didn't you come here to help?" Percy managed to get out over his shock.

Bacchus shrugged uncaringly. "Oh, I appreciated the sacrifice at sea. A whole ship full of Diet Coke. Very nice. Although I would've preferred Diet Pepsi."

"And six million in golds in jewels." Lily murmured lowly at the same time as Percy. The two smirked at each other slightly as Charlie rolled his eyes at them, Jason shaking his head in amused exasperation.

"Yes," Bacchus continued, seemingly ignoring the shenanigans happening in front of him. "although with demigod parties of five or more the gratuity is included, so that wasn't necessary."

"What?" Jason asked.

"Never mind," Bacchus waved off the question. "At any rate, you got my attention. I'm here. Now I need to see if you're worthy of my help. Go ahead, battle. If I'm impressed, I'll jump in for the grand finale."

"We speared one," Percy said. "Dropped the roof on the other. What do you consider impressive?"

Charlie stared at his dad in shock. Percy instantly looked like he regretted asking as Bacchus smiled creepily.

"Ah, good question." Bacchus tapped his thyrsus in thought. "Perhaps you need a little inspiration! The stage hasn't been properly set. You call this a spectacle, Ephialtes? Let me show you how it's done."

The god dissolved in a purple mist, taking Nico and Piper with him.

"Pipes!" Jason yelped. "Bacchus, where did you- ?"

Jason was abruptly cut off by the rumbling that suddenly surrounded them. The ground trembled and began to rise. The ceiling opened in a series of panels. Sunlight poured in. The air shimmered prettily as the sound of loud, wild cheering flooded into Charlie's ears.

The floor had ascended into the Colosseum. Charlie felt Percy and Jason gawk as they realized where they were. Lily just huffed in anger as she pulled her dagger out of its holster. Charlie copied her and pulled out Riptide, uncapping it.

"This is a proper show!" Bacchus's voice boomed from above. He sat in the emperor's box, dressed in purple robes and golden laurels. Piper and Nice sat next to him, being tended to by nymphs.

Percy glared up at him. "You're just going to _sit_ there?"

"The demigod is right!" Ephialtes bellowed. "Fight us yourself, coward! Um, without the demigods."

The god gave a lazy smile. "Juno says she's assembled a worthy crew of demigods. Show me. Entertain me, heroes of Olympus. Give me a reason to do more. Being a god has its privileges."

With that, he popped his soda can. The crowd cheered loudly, covering the sound of Charlie's heart dropping to his feet.

 **Chapter 35 has arrived! Did you like it? Was the siblings scene good? Are you happy with my lazy ass for posting this long than normal chapter? Let me know in the reviews!**

 **See you next chapter! Comic out!**

EspeonAuraGirl55- _Charlie will, eventually. I can neither confirm nor deny if your theory is correct or not. I_ can _confirm that there will be a cliff hanger though. ;D See ya!_

aaquater- _They reason I did it like this is because a. I'm lazy, and b. Payton has a sneaky ass plan for the little ones. Remember, Charlie is the oldest at 14, almost 15. Percy hasn't exactly been able to teach him how to drive yet XD. Also, I fixed that typo, thanks for catching it and letting me know! This is why I need a freaking beta. I just don't know any. Catch ya next time!_

emenem3211- _You're very welcome for the shoutout! Everyone always seems so happy when I do them which in turn makes_ me _happy. Binge reading from chapter 11 to 34 is quite the feat, nice job! I'm so, so glad you like this story enough to reread it! You only have a couple more chapters to freak out over because there is only a few more left for me to write. Then it will be on to book two! See you next chapter!_


	36. Fated

**Happy Halloween! We're in the homestretch now guys! Only one more chapter after this. I'm so sad, my first fic down! But this has also been really amazing to write and I'm so thankful for all of you who followed, favorited, and reviewed! Thanks so much!**

(Silena POV)

Running with a six-year-old on your back and a three-year-old on your hip was hard. Charlie somehow always made it look so easy whenever he was playing with the younger kids.

Her feet pounded on the pavement, pouring on as much speed as possible. They took a tight turn, barely slowing down. They all wanted out of there, the poorly lit underground had all of them feeling claustrophobic.

"Emily," Ethan said, breathlessly. He had Zoe on his shoulder while he carried Andre like a football, both kids bouncing in time with his steps. "How much longer till we're out of here?"

"We have two more right turns then a left turn. After that, we're home free." Emily gasped out.

Silena panted lightly. "Then let's get a move on."

Everyone sprinted faster, ignoring the burning in their legs that came from overworked muscles. They couldn't stop or slow down. If they did, there was no telling who might catch them. It didn't matter though, since as they took their first right turn they had to skid to a stop.

Standing in front of them were five hellhounds, blocking their path. Drool dripped from their muzzles, a loud growling sound encompassing the room as the four legacies stood in a tense silence, slowly lowering the children to the ground.

"Louis," Silena said lowly. "keep the younger ones right here."

The six-year-old nodded, stepping over to the others. Gabby and Gemma cuddled into each other while Zoe and Louis dragged the twins closer, hovering over their four youngest members.

Silena took a deep breath and walked forward, her three cousins right beside her. The hellhounds growled louder, stepping forward as the legacies got closer. Silena clapped her hands loudly, her rings turning into her signature daggers. The hounds leapt forward and attacked.

They were prepared for that.

Emily and Zack lunged for one hellhound, Zack drawing his sword while Emily took out her bow. Ethan engaged two other hellhounds, slashing and stabbing with his sword as he danced between the hellish dogs. Which left Silena with the last two.

She picked up speed before dropping to her knees, bending her back as she slid to avoid the hellhound that jumped for her. She got to her feet just in time to dive roll, avoiding her second hound. She shuffled backwards, eyeing the two dogs. They growled at her, stalking her every move.

She made a 'come here' motion. "Come get me, Fido."

They jumped for her. She ducked. They sailed over her head, landing behind her. An arrow came from her left, just barely missing the first hound. It gave her the distraction she needed to dive in and quickly dispatch the two dogs.

She let out a breath, brushing the hair that escaped her ponytail away from her face.

"You missed." Silena told Emily teasingly. Emily huffed.

"I was multitasking." Emily complained. "Still helped you out, didn't it?"

Ethan chuckled behind her as he sheathed his sword. "You still missed, Shortstack."

Emily didn't answer back, instead she just grumbled under her breath as they all situated the kids back into their previous positions. This time though, Ethan held both of the twins, bouncing on his toes as they babbled happily in their older brother's arms. Zoe was sat on Emily's back, the little girl clutching the twelve-year-old's shoulders. Zack held Gemma close while Silena had Louis piggyback style with Gabby on her hip.

"Everybody good?" Silena asked, glancing around the group. Everyone nodded. "Let's go."

Again they took off, jogging instead of flat out sprinting. Five minutes later they stumbled out of a door and into direct sunlight. The sudden brightness had Silena gasping in pain and blinking rapidly to get rid of the spots that decorated her vision.

"Gah!" Zack yelped loudly. "Bright! Why is it so bright?"

Silena's vision finally cleared. It actually wasn't that bright outside, the sun was in the process of going down, giving the group a beautiful view. Something in the distance made it even more beautiful.

"The Argo ll!" Emily said happily, hiking Zoe up further on her back.

Silena smiled for the first time in two days. "Let's go where they can see us."

OoOoOoOoOo

Leo was completely taken with Gabby. The moment the two-year-old saw her father, she had darted out of Silena's arms and into his, bursting into tears immediately.

It said a lot about Leo's fatherly instincts that he just picked her up and hugged her tightly, cooing at her the entire time. Zoe had demanded to be picked up by Frank, who had instantly complied, while Gemma and Louis appeared content to stay in their siblings' arms. The twins happily gurgled away as Hazel got passed Alejandro from Ethan, the daughter of Pluto smiling brightly at the little bundle in her arms.

Coach Hedge stared in shock at the sudden influx of children. "What did you cupcakes do?"

Silena and Ethan shared guilty looks. "You're gonna be pretty angry with us." Ethan warned.

Frank looked up from grinning at Zoe, giving the two an arched brow. "And why is that?"

Silena cleared her throat and started explaining. Throughout all of it, her 'audience' stayed quiet, all four adults staring at them in shock and rising anger. By the end of it, Frank looked ready to explode.

"Emily Marie! What were you thinking!" Frank yelled, glaring at his daughter. Emily cringed at the look, curling in on herself slightly. "You could've gotten yourself killed! That was a dumb move!"

"Frank!" Hazel snapped, putting her hand on distraught child's shoulder. "That's enough."

Frank looked at her in surprise. "But, Hazel, she- "

"I know what she did." Hazel said calmly. "But yelling and screaming at her isn't going to change anything."

They held their staring contest for a few seconds before Frank conceded, running his free hand through his short hair. Hazel sighed and ran her fingers through Emily's hair before gently taking hold of her chin, forcing her to look up at her.

"We'll talk more about this later." Hazel said sternly. "Right now though, we need to get to the others."

Emily nodded, crestfallen. Hazel gave her a small smile before turning her attention to Silena and Ethan. "Take the younger ones downstairs, get them settled in the mess hall. Feed them, take care of their injuries, then get back up here."

The duo gave a salute and starting hustling the kids along with Emily and Zack down the stairs, prying Gabby away from her dad. Once in the mess hall, they quickly gathered food together, the magic of the mess hall thankfully able to get bottles to appear for the twins. Zack and Ethan vanished down the hall to get the rooms set up for the kids to crash in while Silena went back down to the surface to meet Cythos. She had called for them while they had been running from Hugo and Atlas.

Cythos was waiting for her.

"She wasn't here." Cythos growled, anger showing through.

"Fuck," Silena swore. "Hugo and Atlas were here, why wasn't she?"

Cythos wasn't impressed with her reaction. "Seems we're still going to be partners for the foreseeable future. We didn't find your siblings in there."

"We have them." Silena informed her. "But we'll still try to find Payton for you."

Cythos seemed to relax once Silena reaffirmed their deal. "That's good that you found them. Do you wish us to take them now or at another point in time?"

Silena shook her head. "Not right now. They're way too scared to leave us now. Do you think we can meet up near the ocean later and give them to you?"

Her ally inclined her head. "Of course, just blow the conch shell again and we will arrive."

They parted ways, Cythos to her soldiers and Silena to her family. Silena floated herself up to the Argo ll, heavily incased in her thoughts.

OoOoOoOoOo

"You look like crap," Emily said.

Charlie glanced at her irritably as he bandaged his bicep. "Thanks, Pipsqueak."

Everyone but Annabeth was back on board, the younger kids were introduced to their parents while Zack and Gemma met with Nico. Nico had stared at them both in utter disbelief until Zack had shown off his powers. Nico had choked out a frantic denial before getting as far away as he could from the both of them without being off the ship.

Zack had simply clenched his jaw and hugged his sister, ignoring Nico while the son of Hades stared intently at him. Silena and Charlie had both winced in sympathy, feeling terrible for their cousins.

Lily had attacked her little sister with a hug before passing her off to Leo, who was refusing to put her down. Percy similarly had picked Zoe up and practically squeezed the life out of her, the five-year-old simply wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. Jason and Piper had both smothered Louis in hugs, Jason currently holding the little boy on his hip.

"What do we now?" Zack asked, steadily keeping his eyes off his teenage father.

Percy glanced between the two, shaking his head slightly in disappointment at Nico. "Now we go get Annabeth, and get the hell out of Rome."

Leo nodded and went to the helm while everyone dispersed around the deck. Hazel went over to Nico and quietly began to talk, most likely about Zack and Gemma from what Silena could see. Frank wandered over to Leo and took Gabby from him so he could work the console, Frank smiling brightly at her. Percy joined Piper and Jason, Louis and Zoe still perched on their fathers' hips. Emily went over to Zack and Gemma while Ethan and Lily stood together, each holding a twin in their arms.

Finally after a little while Leo gave a cheer.

"There it is!" he cried, pointing at one of his monitors. "Frank, you're amazing! I'm setting course now!"

Frank shrugged, moving Gabby to sit on his shoulders. "I just read the name off the screen. Some Chinese tourist marked it on Google Maps."

Leo grinned at everybody. "He speaks Chinese."

"Just a little bit," Frank said, giving Leo an amused look.

"How cool is that?"

"Guys," Hazel cut in. "I hate to interrupt your admiration session, but you should hear this."

While everyone gathered around Nico and Hazel, Silena and Charlie slipped away. They walked downstairs, ducking into sick bay where they had stashed their bags. Charlie changed out of his T-shirt and into a tougher, black long-sleeved shirt, kicked off his converse and pulled on his black combat boots. Silena changed into one of her tougher tank tops, dark blue, and pulled on her own black combat boots.

They shouldered their packs and walked into the mess hall, stuffing sandwiches and bottled water into the backpacks. Finally, they walked back upstairs, their family none the wiser to their brief disappearance. She and Charlie settled against the railing, watching instead of participating in the conversation.

Charlie let out a long breath right beside her. "Leaving is gonna suck."

Silena nodded solemnly. "But we have to, to keep everybody safe."

Charlie gave a sad smile, his gaze heavy and hurting. "I know. We're going to be different when we get back, Lena. Tougher, colder. More traumatized than before."

"That's the price you pay," Silena whispered back, watching her parents interact with her little brother, "for loving people enough to go to hell and back for them."

 **Whoo! It's the end of the chapter! And honestly this was so hard to write. Not because of writer's block but because I'm so sad this first book is over. I mean the next chapter I post is it, first book done. It's bittersweet, you know? How do you guys feel about it?**

 **Anyway, I hope you liked it and I'll see you next chapter!**

 **Comic out!**

EspeonAuraGirl55- _Nothing is ever easy for this family, they should know better. Did you really think one of Payton's lieutenants to be incapable in combat? Mr. D is a Grade A jerk and nothing will ever change that. Thanks, I hope this one lived up to the hype!_

aaquater- _I told you, Payton is scarily smart. She has all kinds of things planned for the Kids. I like to think that when it comes to fashion the Aphrodite kids are somehow able to wear 'fashionable things' no matter what the weather is. The Seven have been parents for a little while now, they're bound to pick something up. Thanks for catching my typo. Again._

RosettaQueen20- _Thank you, thank you, and thank you!_

emenem3211- _I know, I'm good at cliffhangers, aren't I? Thanks!_


	37. To Save

(Silena POV)

As they flew towards the parking lot where Annabeth was, Silena found herself replaying memories in her head. Specifically, the night she and Charlie were told about what they needed to do.

(Flashback)

 _It was past midnight and Silena was unhappy. She had been dragged out of bed along with Charlie and sent to the woods of Camp Half-Blood, towards Zeus's Fist if she remembered the route she was taking._

 _Who had dragged her and Charlie out of their warm beds you may ask? Athena, Charlie's godly grandmother, and Hecate, the goddess of magic._

 _This couldn't be a good thing._

 _Hecate had appeared in Silena's dreams, nudging her to wake up and go into the forest. Silena had demanded to know what was going on, but all the goddess said was, "Go into the forest, and you will have your answers."_

 _Yeah, like hell she was just going to take a stroll into the forest with at night with no backup. Honestly, it's like the gods thought demigods wanted to be killed. Well, not her, she liked living and wanted to continue to continue to do so._

 _So she rolled out of bed, threw on some clothes, and headed over to the boys' house. She made as little noise as possible, not wanting to be caught. After all, the moment she starting talking about goddesses appearing in her dreams, everyone would start panicking. Her parents, along with her aunts and uncles, were already plenty worried, especially since Chiron had moved the six kids into two separate houses so that they could train in peace. None of the adults were a fan of that particular decision._

 _Halfway to the house, Silena stopped. Walking toward her was Charlie, wild bedhead and all. He similarly stopped and looked at her in confusion. They moved toward each other, Charlie whispering to her as they got closer to each other._

 _"What are you doing up?" he asked quietly, eying the bushes surrounding them suspiciously._

 _"Hecate woke me up. You?" Silena replied, throwing the question back at him._

 _Charlie scowled at her answer. "Athena happened. She told me to go to Zeus's Fist. I was going to wake you up to join me."_

 _"Jeez," Silena muttered. "I was doing the same thing."_

 _Charlie cracked his knuckles. "Let's go see what they want, shall we?"_

 _A fifteen minute walk later, they stood together, facing the pair of goddesses. Charlie cleared his throat loudly, shifting uneasily._

 _"Why'd you call us out here, Grandmother, Lady Hecate?" he questioned the two goddesses._

 _Athena smiled, which looked a little forlorn to Silena. "To tell you something about your quest, grandson. Something only you and Ms. Grace will be able to do."_

 _"Grandmother?" Charlie said, confused._

 _Hecate stepped forward. "You've been told about the 'leak' in Tartarus, yes?" The goddess of magic asked._

 _The two legacies hesitantly nodded, Silena wringing her hands nervously. Hecate seemed to give a mournful sigh._

 _"You weren't told all of what you had to do," Hecate spoke._

 _Charlie clenched his jaw. "All due respect, Lady Hecate, but quit beating around the bush. What didn't you tell us?"_

 _Athena stared at her grandson, looking like she was delivering a death sentence to a loved one. And in a way, she was._

 _"To fix Tartarus," the wisdom goddess lowly got out, "you will need to go_ into _Tartarus. You must take the place of your parents, and you must take your cousin with you."_

 _Silena felt all of the air flow out of her lungs as she stared in shock at her cousin's grandmother. Charlie tried to speak but couldn't get any words out, instead just moving his jaw without any sound. Silena could feel the tears of frustration well up in her eyes as she realized what this meant._

 _"We're going to die." Silena forced the words out, locking gazes with Hecate. "Aren't we?"_

 _Hecate looked at her with great sadness. "You don't have a very good chance of living. I'm sorry, child."_

 _Charlie barked out a harsh laugh. "If you were sorry, you wouldn't be giving us a suicide quest."_

 _"This is what you have to do," Athena snapped before softening again. "Grandson, this is the only way the future will survive."_

 _"I want a plan," Charlie gritted out, his fists clenched. "If we're doing this, I want a plan that gives the best chance of surviving while guaranteeing we'll be able to fix Tartarus and close the Doors.'_

 _Athena inclined her head. "This is what you'll have to do."_

 _An hour later, the two of them sat on the roof of the girls' house, staring up at the stars._

 _"I never thought I was going to die in Tartarus," Silena murmured, absentmindedly picking out constellations._

 _Charlie grabbed her hand, never turning his head. "We're not going to die."_

 _Silena scoffed at his words. "CJ, we're going to hell, literally! How are we going to survive that?"_

 _"Because," he replied, squeezing her hand, "we're going to tip the scales in our favor, in any way we can."_

(End Flashback)

That was the day Silena stopped being a child. The day she started to put her will together and wrote her goodbye letters to her family. If she was going to die, then she wanted her family to know she loved them with every fiber of her being. After all, if she didn't, she wouldn't be doing this.

 _OoOoOoOo_

Somehow, the kids were able to slink away to the mess hall without the 'adults' (minus Hedge who was down in his cabin, loudly watching WWE) noticing anything. The younger kids were being entertained be the parents, Piper and Hazel having been given the twins while Gemma had wandered over to Leo and Frank, who still had Gabby on his shoulders, to demand to be picked up. Leo had immediately complied.

Silena and Charlie were crowded by their cousins, each of them getting their bear hugs in.

Ethan grabbed Silena and Charlie by the shoulders. "You had both better come back, you hear? Or I will kill the both of you."

They nodded solemnly, Charlie patting Zack, who was currently attached to his waist, on the head. "Easy, no need for threats." Silena gave Ethan a strained smile as she gave Lily and Emily a hug each.

He gave her a grumpy look in return. "I'll make as many threats as I want, Grace."

Charlie snickered at the exchange as Lily and Emily let go of Silena and bombarded him with hugs. Zack simply switched from Charlie's waist to Silena's and snuggled in. Silena let out a long breath, her bangs fluttering from the sudden breeze. Charlie allowed the girls to hug him for a bit longer before gently prying them away from him. Silena patted Zack on the back to get him to let go. He reluctantly backed away and joined the other three.

Charlie met the four gazes staring at them. "We love you guys, okay? We love you so, so much. "

"That's why we need to do this," Silena smoothly continued. "We have to protect the whole family."

"We know," Lily muttered, blinking rapidly to force back tears. "But I don't want you two to get hurt."

"That's part of the job, Lils," Silena told her, blinking back tears of her own.

Charlie swallowed loudly next to her. "We'll try to make it back. But if we don't, you four can't just stop functioning. You have to keep moving."

The four of them nodded, Zack sniffling loudly. Emily gripped his hand tightly as she took deep breaths, shoulders shaking. The ship suddenly rumbled, the now familiar sound of the cannons firing filling their ears. Silena shook herself, shoving all of her emotions into a tightly packed box.

"It's go time," Charlie said, voice devoid of all emotion. "Get a move on."

Everyone filed out of the room, racing up the stairs to get to the deck. Silena jogged over to the railing with everyone else and looked over the side. A massive hole was in the now ruined parking lot, big enough for the _Argo ll_ to fit. Percy suddenly gave a loud shout.

"Annabeth!" he screamed over the side.

"Here!" Annabeth's voice sounded back, desperate and relieved.

Standing on a big platform over a gigantic, black chasm was Annabeth, filthy and injured. Silena waved her hand at her aunt, smiling in relief despite the fact that she knew Annabeth would survive. At the moment, Silena was just praying that she, along with the rest of her family, would forgive her and Charlie for what they were about to do.

The _Argo ll_ hovered forty feet above the floor. Percy raced over to the rope ladder and scrambled down it, desperate to get to his future wife. All of the younger kids were put down and told to stay put while everyone went to get Annabeth and the statue, Hedge being ordered to watch them after he stumbled up the stairs. Silena stepped toward Charlie, both of them shouldering their backpacks. Silena wrapped her arms around her cousin and lifted them into the air, lowering them onto the ground next to Percy and Annabeth. The rest of the family surrounded them, everyone grinning happily at the couple embracing each other tightly.

"Your leg." Piper knelt next to Annabeth's leg to inspect the Bubble Wrap cast Annabeth had somehow managed to make. "Oh, Annabeth, what happened?"

Annabeth began explaining what had happened to her in the last couple of hours. While Annabeth told the story, Silena crouched down and cut away the spider webs clinging to Annabeth's ankle, making sure she got every single strand. Annabeth gave her a thankful smile as she finished talking.

"Gods of Olympus," Jason said, staring at Annabeth in amazement. "You did all of that. With a broken ankle."

"Well...some of it with a broken ankle," Annabeth corrected.

Percy grinned at her with pride. "You made Arachne weave her own trap? I knew you were good, but Holy Hera- Annabeth, you did it. Generations of Athena kids tried and failed. You found the Athena Parthenos!"

At those words everyone turned to the statue.

"What do we do with her?" Frank wondered. "She's huge."

"We'll have to take her to Greece with us," Annabeth said. "The statue is powerful. Something about it will help us stop the giants."

"The giants' bane stands gold and pale," Hazel quoted the prophecy, looking at Annabeth. "Won with pain from a woven jail. That was Arachne's jail. You tricked her into weaving it."

Annabeth nodded, wincing as she moved her ankle slightly.

Leo raised his hands. He made a finger picture frame around the Athena Parthenos like he was taking measurements. Silena shook her head and laughed under her breath despite the situation. 'Only Uncle Leo,' she thought, amused.

"Well, it might take some rearranging, but I think we can fit her through the bay doors in the stable," Leo concluded. "If she sticks out the end, I might have to wrap a flag around her feet or something."

Annabeth didn't seem to like that plan but kept any objections to herself, instead asking about the giants. Percy quickly filled her in, explaining about Nico, Bacchus, and the twin giants. Before he finished, he also told her about rescuing the younger kids.

Annabeth blinked in shock before muttering to herself, "Wow."

"That's what I said," Percy quipped.

Annabeth rolled her eyes at him before continuing. "So the mortal side is in Epirus. At least that's somewhere we can reach."

Nico grimaced. "But the other side is the problem. Tartarus."

Silena shivered as the word rebounded off the walls of the chasm, echoing around them as the pit behind her released a blast of cool air. Charlie laid his hand on her shoulder and cleared his throat loudly.

"We should get out of here." he said, looking at Annabeth. "There's no reason to be standing here wasting time."

Annabeth nodded. "Right, Leo, we should figure out how to get the statue up there."

The two started brainstorming, quickly figuring out a plan and ordering people around. Soon enough, the statue was onboard the ship, packed tightly into the stables. Piper, Jason, The Terrors, Lily and Leo were also on the ship, waiting for last of them to climb up.

The chamber started shaking around them, chunks of the floor breaking off and falling into the pit. Charlie started shoving the parents toward the ladder.

"Go!" he yelled. "Mom, you're first. Dad will be right behind you!"

Annabeth immediately started climbing, fear overshadowing her questioning look. Percy followed her, unaware that this would be the last time he would see Charlie and Silena for a long time. Hazel went up next with Frank behind her, both of them trusting the kids to be right behind them.

Ethan faced the two of them, all three ignoring the chamber coming down around them. Tears fell from his eyes as he stared at them.

"Come back," he pleaded with them. "Just come back."

Silena and Charlie nodded. "Keep the others safe," Silena told him, giving him one last hug.

He gripped her back tightly as he murmured his agreement. Charlie hauled him into a final hug as well once Silena let go. After a few seconds, the two boys pulled away, Ethan wiping his tears away furiously.

"Go," Charlie told him, pointing at the ladder. Ethan started climbing, never looking back.

She and Charlie walked to the edge, staring into the pit, revealing nothing but emptiness as the chamber fell apart around them. Their hands found their way to the other person's, holding on tightly. They turned to look at each other, holding the other's gaze strongly.

"One," Charlie spoke, a bittersweet smile on his face.

"Two," Silena replied, an answering smile appearing on her face.

"Three." They said the last number together, leaping into the chasm toward certain death, without an ounce of fear showing.

 **Okay everyone, remain calm. The final chapter of Fated To Save *Sniffs* HAS BEEN POSTED! BAHHHHHHH I'M SO EMOTIONAL! I never thought the first book would end! I thought it would take me _at least_ a year! I mean, holy crap, guys! I posted this story in March and its ending in November of the same year! That's awesome, and amazing, and incredible! Thank you all so much for following, favoriting or reviewing this story! I love you all so, so, much! I honestly would have trashed this fic MONTHS ago if not for all you beautiful, kind people! MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT! AHHHHHHHHH!**

 **Anyway, the next book in the series is called Fated To Survive (So original, I know) I will be posting a quick note on this fic so that all of you who have followed/favorited this story will know right away when the first chapter is posted! Which, lets be honest here, will either come in two days or two months knowing me.**

 **But before I sign off I want to thank someone extremely special! aaquater has agreed to put up with my pushy ass and has BECOME MY BETA! WHOO! Now you can all blame them for spelling mistakes and errors! In all seriousness though, they're awesome and I'm extremely glad that they're my beta. So please give them lots of love in the reviews like you do for me!**

 **That's all for now, see you next time!**

 **Comic out!**

Didi (My cheerleader ;D) _Trust me, it gets even sadder. Like, you won't be prepared for how sad this fic is gonna get. Girl, I'm doing HoH AND BoO, HAH! Thank you! I'm glad you liked it so much! Nico seems to a person that has no idea what to do with emotions, especially when they are shoved right in his face. Don't worry, eventually he warms up to them. Maybe. BLAME AAQUATER! NOTHING INVOLVING GRAMMAR IS MY FAULT ANYMORE! Don't worry! I understand that life interferes with your fanfic addiction, trust me mine does that alllll the time. I'm glad I came back too!_

EspeonAuraGirl55 (All of my love!) Everybody _predicted what those two were going to do. I wasn't exactly subtle, was I? Heh heh heh, anyway. Nico's life kinda sucks at the moment. And I have evil plans for the Cupid scene, poor Nico. Percy will know that Nico is gay, he just won't realize that Nico has a crush on him. So don't worry, that hilarious reaction from ole Seaweed Brain ain't going nowhere!_

emenem3211 (I love your username) _THANK YOU! WAS I SUCCESSFUL IN MAKING SALT WATER FALL FROM YOUR EYES? Otherwise this would be a complete waste :c_

aaquater (My beautiful (probably) beta!) _Zack takes after Nico more while Gemma is more like Will. So Zack is essentially a vampire sometimes._ _HAHAHA that's my favorite thing! Payton's just out touring Rome while her minions do her bidding, HA! That's totally canon now! Honestly, I have given up trying to bring logic to Leo's machines, it just doesn't work._


	38. New Story Is Posted

Fated To Survive is posted! Please go check it out!


	39. I Made A Forum!

I made a forum for this series! Go check it out, it's called "For The FTS Community". I made you all a forum so if you wanted to, you could post theories if you want or talk amongst yourselves, or even chat with me! Go visit! Hell, I might even post sneak peaks for the series or drop hint for you guys. XD


	40. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! PLEASE READ!

Okay, so it's been a minute since I've posted on this story and it's sequel (Fated To Survive [Unsubtle plug is unsubtle]) but I have awesome news!

I am currently co-writing a story with my cousin called Catch Me, and we just posted the first chapter! Please, please go check it out! It would make us so extremely happy if you guys would read it! My cousin did all the artwork for the book and it is insanely awesome, so props to her!

There's a link in my bio to our shared Fictionpress account where the story has been posted and I also put the actual link to the story there as well.

Please go check it and let me know what you think! All my love, Comic out!


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